As we had some substantial rain last night I decided to try and take a wee corner root cutting of Geum Lady Strathden.
As I did not want to get my feet muddy I reached over the border m, back arched and put the spade at the side of the plant. I put my foot on the spade and their was a satisfying soily click as the s spade went through.
Imagine my horror as I lifted the spade up and the whole foliage of the plant toppled in every direction. I had cut through all the stalks. 
I now have a huge gap in my border and a large rootball thinking I am sure I was feeding some stems and leaves before.
The moral of the story is of course get you boots muddy and address a plant directly and don’t stretch 3 ft over other plants. Also lift the plant and dissect it away from the border. On the plus side all being well I should have 4 healthy plants soon all being well. Pity the bees will be pissed though.
Sedums, Dahlias and Hayfever 
my reaching over 3 feet and arching my back days are over. sciatica.
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I had a similar experience earlier in the year. It involved secateurs, an Anemone japonica that needed cutting down and an early flowering Clematis that didn’t. I lost all the top growth off of the Clematis. It’s coming back well now but I felt so awful when I did it. Hopefully, bonus plants will more than make up for it for you.
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Yes I felt guilty when it happened.
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Oh, I SO hate it when that happens! It can also happen while pruning out old stems and accidentally getting young stems instead, although it is not as serious that way.
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