Can you separate Tall Bearded Iris in the spring?

We had iris plants that were here against the side of garage (in a very sunny location) when we moved in but had never bloomed. Last year I pulled them all out and gave them a new home, and as I recall there were some blooms. I can't really remember if I moved them in late 2010 or early 2011. They must really like this new location as they have multiplied at least by two and maybe by three, and in any case they are now quite crowded.

Does anyone know if I can safely separate them and move them now or if I need to wait for them to bloom? Also, will they bloom if they are crowded?

Marcia

I like to separate mine right after they are done blooming, usually while they still have just enough bloom for me to still tell what color/name it is.
I cut the fans to about 6 inches tall so they have a change to root. Otherwise the fans catch too much wind and they pull over, not rooting.

You can separate, but they won't bloom. Wait until afterwards. No wind trouble here so we don't cut the leaves back.

They may bloom some if crowded, but they don't like it. Why not wait and see if you get some blooms to enjoy, and then separate them, because it's not going to make any difference if you separate them right before or right after bloom. . About 6 weeks after bloom is optimal, but I divide anytime.

I'll wait and hope for blooms.

Thank you all!

To my amazement, these crowded clumps of iris are loaded with buds, fr more than last year. Expect they'll start opening sometime next week. Apparently they like their home.

I think best wait until July or August to transplant, they need about 6 weeks after spring bloom ends to refresh themselves. Give one feeding after bloom and water weekly in average climate--your microclimate may require more or less.

Yes, most irises can be transplanted any time of the year, though it's best they be sheltered in winter. If they're rebloomers they might do their thing in the fall. They put on the best show during 2nd and 3rd year spring bloom. They should be divided after that unless their spot has plenty of room to spread; in that case, just take out the center rhizomes and plant elsewhere.

I live in the Pacific NW, which is very temperate. My bearded iris seem to crowd themselves very quickly. How far apart do you replant when thinning? I was giving them about 4-6" but perhaps I need to give more. In which case, what the heck do you do with all your extras? One year I put them in small boxes on the road for free and they were taken -- guess that's as good a plan as any.

Tall bearded irises should be planted a foot apart. Can you give extras to local church , or library or other public buildings or park plantings?

I plant 18 inches apart for the tall bearded, as they do multiply quickly here.

Good tips from IrisMA orI think boxes on the road for free is neat. Or offer them up here for postage.

This message was edited May 22, 2012 5:23 PM

To my surprise there are so many irises despite the crowded conditions. And every stem has five buds, so they're definitely not hurting. The third irises and japanese. I don't exactly know how they got there. It is obviously a good year for irises. I'm hoping the Ensatas and Dutch Iris do as well.

It's going to be a lot of work to separate these characters.

I can just smell the ones in the second picture. I've seen those before, and they smell wonderful. Get your muscles warmed up to divide those siberians.

Do any of you iris folk know the name of the 2nd one? That looks exactly like the ones I have which I believe came from my neighbor when I first moved in - no clue what the name is but they smell heavenly.

William A. Setchell. Check out the various pictures and look at the highlighted beard area on Wanda's picture.


http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/showimage/24164/

Many single rhizomes that I planted close together have now grown into each other; blooming beautifully this year but maybe hard to tell which is which, so I have been taking string and looping it around the bloomstalks of each clump and tagging each clump. This should make it easier to separate and move.

Interesting idea.

I will gladly pay postage for any iris ;-)

I have some pink My Ginny that will need dividing. Also a yellow and white Play to Win. Both are nice, but don't really excite me, colorwise. Send me a d-mail.