sharing iris with friend
If the roots are long, you can hold a hand under the rhizome and cut the roots off below your hand width.
We separated our iris this year and have quite a few left over, would like to store them until next year.
This article explains how to store iris:
https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/ornamental/bulbs/iris/storing-iris-rhizomes.htm
, when should I cut, prune back and separate iris plants & bulbs
It depends on the type you are growing - Tall bearded, Louisiana, Siberian, Japanese, etc. Here are sources with articles that should help:
When to thin, when to cut back
After irises have finished blooming, you can remove the bloom stalks. Then leave them to replenish till late summer, when the plants go dormant. Then, if crowded, you can dig the clumps and divide the iris. These articles should help:
https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/ornamental/bulbs/iris/divide-bearded-irises.htm
My Immortality irises are usually reblooming, but show no signs of it after a summer of rain. Will they com e back as good as new next year? Is there anything I can do to help. Can I thin them out this Fall?
Bearded irises can rot if they get too much water. If your soil is well draining, the summer rains hopefully did not damage them. Reblooming is not guaranteed, so it may not have been the rain that stopped fall blooming.
If the stands are crowded, or they have been growing for at least three years, you can dig them up and divide them. Wait till a day when they have dried out, however.
https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/ornamental/bulbs/iris/dividing-transplanting-iris.htm
I just received iris rhizomes that we’re divided out of my late grandmother’s garden in Arizona. I live in Washington and the weather forecast predicts freezing weather this week. I’m planning on storing them over the winter. When is the best time to plant these stored rhizomes?
You can let them dry out then store them in newspaper to keep them separated. Wait till spring to plant them after all chances of frost have passed.
https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/ornamental/bulbs/iris/storing-iris-rhizomes.htm
I have a dense bed of iris and the roots (bulbs) are near the surface of the ground. But it also has a lot of annual weeds growing in between the plants.
I would definitely divide them up. This can be done anytime between summer and fall. Just weed what you can, carefully remove and divide your iris plants, then till in the soil before replanting.
This article will offer more information in detail:
https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/ornamental/bulbs/iris/dividing-transplanting-iris.htm