Best Time To Separate Iris Bulbs

Plant irises in late summer to early fall when nighttime temperatures remain between 40 and 50 degrees fahrenheit or above.

Best time to separate iris bulbs.

Looking at the thick horizontal many branched root that produces the bearded iris iris. The best time to dig up iris bulbs or rhizomes in the garden is between the last days of summer and early fall. This article applies to the bearded iris the best known of the irises. Many gardeners wonder when is the best time to transplant iris and how should one go about moving iris from one place to another.

Transplanting iris is a normal part of iris care. Shake off the soil and rinse each rhizome with water. The best time to separate iris bulbs. Carefully dig up your iris clumps with a spade shovel and gently lift each clump from the soil.

When your iris bed starts becoming really overgrown it is a good idea to dig up the bulbs and separate them and either share the bulbs with a friend or move some of them to another part of your yard. The bulbs start multiplying and before you know it you have irises all over the place and they are trying to grow over the top of each other. Remember that bulbs tend to pull themselves deeper than they were originally planted and spread out. When well cared for iris plants will need to be divided on a regular basis.

This gives them plenty of time to get established before the coming winter. Given that division can differ slightly between irises it is important to know which irises you are seeking to divide. The best time to divide irises is during late summer usually anytime between july and the first of september. The best time to move bulbs is when the foliage is just about gone the plant is no longer actively growing the bulb is recharged and you can still see where they are.

The tall bearded iris varieties are best planted closer to fall because they go dormant in early to mid summer. The word bulb can be a bit confusing when applied to an iris.