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Perennial plants can also be differentiated from annuals and biennials in that perennials have the ability to remain dormant over long periods of time and then continue growth and reproduction. The meristem of perennial plants communicates with the hormones produced due to environmental situations (i.e. seasons), reproduction, and stage of development to begin and halt the ability to grow or flower. There is also a distinction between the ability to grow and actual task of growth. For example, most trees regain the ability to grow in the midst of winter but do not initiate physical growth until the spring and summer months. The start of dormancy can be seen in perennials plants through withering flowers, loss of leaves on trees, and halting of reproduction in both flowering and budding plants.[1]

Dividing perennial plants is something that gardeners do around the months of September and October. The point of doing the division at this time is to allow approximately 6 weeks for adequate root growth prior to the ground reaching a freezing temperature. Also due to the leaves falling from trees and the excessive amount of rain received in most places during the fall weeks; the ground has adequate moisture for rapid growth. Each type of plant must be separated differently, for example plants with large root systems like oriental grasses can be cut by knives and pulled apart. However, plants such as Irises have a root system known as a Rhizomes, these root systems should be planted with the bulb of the plant just above ground level, with leaves from the following year showing. the point of dividing perennials is to increase the amount of a single breed of plant in your garden. The more you divide your perennial plants every year, the more vast your garden will grow.[2]

The optimal growth of a deciduous perennial plant is studied in a manner where we can make basic assumptions. The first assumption is about the daily net photosynthetic rate of a plant increases but also saturates with the size of the plant. Second, the production of the plant is discarded however, used stored material will be used during the next season to keep it growing. Finally, the plant maximizes its lifetime by choosing the best growth schedule within each season and also the resource allocation between reproduction for the year and the storage for next year. Perennial plants have low storage, low growth rate and a short growing season

https://extension.psu.edu/dividing-perennials