Dividing Irises

Divide and Multiply
I spent Saturday morning at the church dividing the bearded irises. The task was long past due and the rhizomes were so overgrown they looked like cobblestones. Luckily a recent rain softened the ground without making it muddy.

At 8:30 it was just me and an elderly gentlemen who had to rest quite often because of a failing heart. Bless his heart, it isn't failing in the most important sense...it is loving and giving. Not only does he joyfully volunteer for church but he's caring for his wife with Alzheimers.

Then three other faithful gardeners showed up and we divided the work - the other man dug up the irises and the rest of us split off the spent rhizomes and trimmed the foliage of the healthy rhizomes for replanting. There are three beds at the church with overgrown irises and we almost finished one bed. As the morning passed, we quit digging them up properly; we just dug holes out of the cobblestone rhizomes and trimmed the tops.

Why is it called dividing plants when the result is multiples of the original? We transplanted 30 plants and are giving away two huge tubs of iris starts. If you want some lavender bearded iris starts, stop by at Huntertown United Methodist Church.