I have a question for all.

Do you practice thinning with a blade instead of transplanting (or to delay pulling them up a year) when they get crowded?

If you were only going to clean up accumulated spent mothers, could you thin a wee little bit before bloom time? say around tulip time?

That's my question. Thanks all.

This might be useful:

https://garden.org/ideas/view/...

Great idea. However my hands are not strong & I wonder if I can do that technique.

My hands aren't particularly strong, but I got one of those Japanese knife things, and it is surprisingly easy. Give it a try.

I remember somebody saying that they cut out the spent mother rhizomes without disrupting the young rhizomes to thin their clumps. I tend to leave it too late to do this and need to dig up the entire clumps because the mother rhizomes have grown so far apart.

KentPfeiffer said:This might be useful:

https://garden.org/ideas/view/...

Thanks Kent, I had read your article when I googled this. I first saw the practice on a youtube video from a UK garden. But I was binge watching garden videos while under the weather and to be honest I only half remember what the guy said. and I can't find the video to review it.

Is there something you recommend I should put on the exposed cuts? You mentioned you don't have much rot, but it's been an issue where I am. I'd plan to fill in with compost when I can. But maybe I should fill with ... rocks or something non-biological for a day or 2, to let the exposed cuts dry out. What do you think?

I think I will buy a hori hori. I cleaned and oiled just this fall, and sharpened. But I think I may be a special kind of bonehead, because my teeny handscythe and my big scissors just don't seem to hold an edge at all. I think I must not be sharpening them right.

I'm looking at the Sensei brand right now. I need to make sure there's a hilt so I don't accidentally slip the grip and cut myself. Which I can just imagine.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00W3OTQLU/

I have a Garret Wade Pro Gardener's Digging Tool.

Pros: this one is extremely sturdy, has a really excellent hand guard, and comes in both right and left handed versions. I have very rocky soil, so the ruggedness of this one is appreciated.

Cons: I Ordered the right handed version because I am right-handed. But I think they have put the serration on the wrong side for right handed use. I would like it to be on the downward edge, but, no, it's on the upward edge. I guess I should have ordered the left hand version! Also, it's not quite as sharp as I would like, probably because of the very rugged thickness of the blade.

Though this is great for digging, I don't think it's sharp enough for cutting out a rhizome. For that, I bring out one of my sharp kitchen paring knives. I guess I should buy a geniune hori-hori for that.

MamaFan said:
Is there something you recommend I should put on the exposed cuts? You mentioned you don't have much rot, but it's been an issue where I am. I'd plan to fill in with compost when I can. But maybe I should fill with ... rocks or something non-biological for a day or 2, to let the exposed cuts dry out. What do you think?

I think I will buy a hori hori. I cleaned and oiled just this fall, and sharpened. But I think I may be a special kind of bonehead, because my teeny handscythe and my big scissors just don't seem to hold an edge at all. I think I must not be sharpening them right.

I'm looking at the Sensei brand right now. I need to make sure there's a hilt so I don't accidentally slip the grip and cut myself. Which I can just imagine.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00W3OTQLU/

Generally, I try do thinning during stretches of nice sunny weather. Solar radiation is an excellent disinfectant.

Can't say anything about Sensei knives, but Nisaku knives can be had for less than $25 and seem to be indestructible. I've had one for 20 years and use it for everything: planting, weeding, throwing it at rabbits, etc.. Lost it in the garden in August once and didn't find it until the next April (buried under a pile of compost). It was as shiny as the day I bought it. It's the best garden tool I've ever owned, far better than similar tools that sell for a lot more. The handle doesn't look very comfortable, but it feels good in the hand. I've never cut myself with mine due to slipping.

I leave my irises alone.

Kent: That article is extremely helpful. I had not considered thinning save breaking off rhizomes to share with others. When I break off rhizomes for sharing, I do exactly what you mention. I leave the broken end exposed to sun and air for a week or two, then go back and cover it with some enriched soil. I have had good luck with this, but I don't have bad rot issues in this area either.