dividing Iris bucharica
John Lonsdale (Tue, 13 May 2003 09:14:05 PDT)

Judy,

Wait until they are fully dormant then put a spade under and around the
clump and lift them en bloc. Then just wash the soil off and carefully pull
them apart - keeping as many of the thong-like roots as possible attached to
the basal plate of the bulbs. Don't worry if you snap some of the roots
half way down - they go deep and it is almost impossible not to. You won't
do any harm, and bulbs with no roots at all will regrow them. I lift and
divide mine on a three year cycle - they can indeed rot out if you leave
them too long. The old foliage hangs around for quite a while once they are
dormant so you'll have no trouble seeing where they are.

J.

Dr John T Lonsdale
407 Edgewood Drive,
Exton, Pennsylvania 19341, USA

Phone: 610 594 9232
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Zone 6b