dividing iris

 My iris didn't bloom because they got hailed on.  Should/can they be
divided?  You're not supposed to divide them until after they bloom.  The
hail-stomped were budding multitudinously, but does that count as blooming?

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I divide iris at any time, even in full bloom, with it suffering no ill
effects.  The best time to divide most corm/tuber plants is any time after a
good rain when the ground is wet and soft.  These plants store most of their
energy in their roots so they don't become damaged very easily... I've dug
them up and just left them on the ground where they lay for more than two
weeks before planting them and they perked right up within a couple three
days.  Iris is kinda like a potato, it can be laying around for many weeks
looking totally dead and all of a sudden just sprouts.

 
Yes, they are very tough.  But what I've heard is that if you divide them
before they bloom, the divided ones won't bloom the next year.
Lobo
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 On 6/24/2009 7:31 AM, Lobo wrote:

I divide when bare-root rhizomes are available in local nurseries.  I
generally wait until the second week of availability.  That's the prime
time to plant them, so it is also a good time to divide them.  They
should be replanted as soon as possible after dividing.  I divide and
replant a clump all in one day, before doing the next clump.

See my <http://www.rossde.com/garden/garden_divide_iris.html> .

--
David E. Ross
Climate:  California Mediterranean
Sunset Zone: 21 -- interior Santa Monica Mountains with some ocean
influence (USDA 10a, very close to Sunset Zone 19)
Gardening diary at <http://www.rossde.com/garden/diary>