Dividing iris

A lady here at work asked me this morning if she could divide her irises right now. We've had a light frost so far but not a hard freeze. I don't raise irises so I told her I would ask the experts! thanks!

welcome babeegirl, I think maybe in your zone 6a its a little late to be dividing. Most iris dealers have stopped selling irises for the year, and the reason is they need 4 to 6 weeks to be in the ground before the first frost. If less than that they may not survive. Since a reputable dealer will guarantee their irises they would go broke selling irises past their time. It may be wise to wait til next year to divide. Hope that was some help

good advice. Babeegirl, the best time in the USA to divide irises is about six weeks after they bloom in spring, which is about when they go into a dormant phase (not actively growing), until late August. Like plantman said, they need to be in the ground by now for best results.

thank you :) I will let her know.

across the USA, most iris growers start digging July 1st, or just before, and knock off somewhere towards the end of August to the first weeks of September.