Question
I just bought 2 hostas and a phlox plant. They seemed a bit pricey, but I thought perhaps I could split them before planting them. Will they live?

Answer
You boost the odds if you dose them with Harpin Protein, but this is not an inexpensive treatment.  If the Phlox is big enough divide -- they don't usually sell THAT large a specimen around here anyway -- then you can give it a shot.  Hostas are a little tougher.  The Harpin eases the pain somehow and speeds recovery, very impressive, plus contributes to the general wellbeing of the plant.  It is however costly.  Patented, sort of like Claritin and Retin-A and Glyphosate, it will plunge in price when the patent expires provided people know what to do with it.