It depends :-)) And isn't that the answer to any gardening question? LOL!

Some short-lived perennial will take well to division while others not so much. For example, the perennial wallfllowers like Bowle's Mauve, which literally blooms itself to an early demise, are more shrub-like and typically have a single growth point which limits the ability to divide. And dividing delphiniums is just a guarantee of killing them, IME. Never had any success dividing lupines either, but they will reseed easily and replace themselves.

One of the best resources for care of a huge assortment of perennials as well as how, when and if to divide is The Well-Tended Perennial Garden, by Tracy diSabato-Aust. This is a great reference any perennial gardener should have in their library.

than you so much for your reply, I am mostly thinking about pincushion flower, gaillardia and asters, those are the ones I have that are short lived, are these the ones that can be divided to prolong its life?

IME, none of those is particularly short-lived. But that may be my mild climate that dictates. Regardless, they are all easily divided.

well I am located in northern New Jersey, just outside of New York City, we don't get terrible winters, but still the ground freezes and all that, I also have clay soil which I suspect was amended by the previous owner.

oh I see so it is like dividing the plant kind of reset its biological clock

I found it to be true with Silver Sage. It is supposed to be a biennial or a short-lived perennial, but I am dividing it every year or every second year and I still have "grandchildren" of the original plant growing in my garden