Thanks for the clarification Kent. I have a giant tangle of iris that had very little blooms this year, and it sounds like I need to get rid of most of the big guys and just keep the babies? I'd been dividing this clump about every 2-3 years, usually about the time the rhizomes start climbing up the foundation wall. I probably replanted the wrong rhizomes, favoring the larger ones for the babies, which now adds to my poor blooming percentage. I also have a couple newer clumps and would like to get into a better management habit with them before they get as out of control as my big mess.
I find that the bigger rhizomes end up squishing against each other, with the babies going any which way they can. How do you remove the mother without compromising the daughters? I tried slicing the daughters away from the mother but then couldn't easily lift the mother due to the root structure. Do you also horizontally slice the mother's root system or something?
I absolutely love iris and would like to be a better nurturer of them.
