Irises: Best Time to Get out of the Ground?, 1 by Chillybean

Chillybean wrote:
One of my children picked this out at a plant sale in 2012 or 2013. I didn't keep a gardening journal then, so cannot say for sure when. It was one bulb with some growth, but since that time it exploded beyond what I will tolerate in my native to US patch. He is fine with me digging these up. Finally. When I asked him earlier, it was a different story.

Instead of throwing the bulbs into the burn pile, I'll pass them on to friends who like iris. I've already asked around to see if they will have homes. To ensure the bulbs will come back up next year, when is the best time to dig them up? Also, how difficult are bulbs to get out of the ground with this amount of growth? Am I going to need a backhoe? Just kidding... :) I have some invasive curly dock that is terrible to get out of the ground.

Thank you for any help.