Here's what I do for Drabas and it has worked fine. I put one hand on the plant and press down so as not to pull up most of the plant (and thus not pull it out from the roots!). I separate out about a 10th of the plant with my other hand and work my fingers undnerneath against the main root base. I'm just really digging away some of the soil with my hand along the outer edge. I then pull outwards the amount of root (and plant) I want to pull off the mother plant. I like to pull at the root level and slightly sideways and not from the green top. A small clump of green top and root material should separate.

Sometimes this removed section can be separated into 2 or 3 pieces (or left intact if desired). I put this back directly into my alpine beds. Alternatively, you can put the pieces in a 4 inch pot until they get established and plant before the ground freezes. I plant them in one part small gravel, one part zeolite or sharp sand and one part garden soil with a bit of compost worked in.

I use this same technique for propagating all types of alpines this time year..from saxifrages to beardtongues, lychnis, gentians, androsaces, etc. We can do this in our zone 3 gardens where most of these plants aren't subject to winter rot as in milder, wetter climates. A lot of times when you read 'best propagated by seed', that's not the case for us. Most of our plants will root from offsets or cuttings just fine if given decent drainage.

Thanks for the information! I'm going to give it a shot and see how we do. Is there any wintercare specific to Draba that I should know? (Wind and rain protection, etc)

Thanks again,

Cody

p.s. I figured out how to spell 'propagation' correctly...

I don't give mine any protection. The key, like most alpines is good drainage. My alpines and especially xeriscape plants get a lot of water from the sprinker watering the rest of our garden . The key is to let the water run through and not accumulate.

One more note: alpines can sometimes look awful and dead but the roots are alive. I try to resist diging up any pathetic looking specimens at least into mid Spring. Some of our best plants were once shriveled up and almost given up on.

Here's a page with some more information on Draba.

http://www.nargs.org/potm/potm_may04.html

Hi,
Never heard of zeolite. What is it?
Thanks, David

Zeolite is a gritty mineral that is used to 'loosen' soil, increase drainage, etc.

Sands are probably every bit as good to use. Some alpine gardeners are particular about the type of sand they use. I like a 'sharp' sand (mostly silica) but some gardeners use any sand with good results.