A total mess of day lilies, some tiger lilies and some tiny purple
by
Louise
+7
Irises (and a few weeds). My plan is dig them all up, put them on the ground, separate them, give some away and replant the ones I keep. But I don't even approach being a real "gardener," so is this a good idea or not? And if it's OK, when is the best time to do this? And when I replant, is there anything special I should do with/to them? I planted these YEARS and YEARS ago and have never thinned or done anything to them. Bad me. :-(
8 answers
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Do it in the fall and winter, depending on how much and how soon it snows. The daylilies will look like little stick figure roots, get a garden fork and pry them out of the ground shake off the dirt and put them in a bag. keep a separate bag for everything that looks alike. You have a treasure in daylilies. After you dig them, plant them in another bed. The lilies at the back and then the daylilies and then the irises. interplant them with hardy perennials and you have a great garden. You shift them to another bed because you won't get them all and the old bed needs amending
Ann Riffe
on Jun 26, 2016
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I'm sure there's a "special" time that is best, but that's never stopped me. Let the leaves die back though as this returns nutrients back to the bulbs. I just dig up big areas I want to redo, separate the bulbs, trim off the dead stuff and trim back the roots a little and either go and replant where I want or just throw them in a pile somewhere and forget about them for a month or two or a year until I get around to planting them. When replanting, I use a bulb fertilizer along with amended soil. Be creative. Sometimes I plant in clusters one type, like Easter lilies. Other places I mix all sorts of bulbs and there's always something new coming out in bloom. Just keep track of what grows tall or thick or short so nothing gets hidden.
ObiaMan
on Jun 26, 2016
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The bulbs will preform better if dug and divided in the fall.
Janet Pizaro
on Jun 26, 2016
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You have a great start to really great flower bed.You can pretty much dig them up, separate them into 'like'groups and let them rest for a few weeks. It wont hurt them. They are mostly very hardy varieties. If you intermix them when you replant them, you will always have something blooming. Wish you were close to me.... you could thin them out by sharing with a flower friend!!
Susan
on Jun 26, 2016
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Are these iris or daylilies? definitely need to thin them out--remember not to plant iris deep. If you replant there, you will have big hole from digging them up, go ahead and add in potting soil to that area--that way you will be adding back in nutrients that way. Go ahead and try the daylilies in different spots--nothing to lose by trying---a lot of mine do not get full sun and they are thriving where I have them---one even gets to over 5 foot tall and has to have a tomato cage to support it when blooming.
Cathy
on Jun 27, 2016
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As they said fall is a very good time to get them started. In the meantime, when you have coffee or tea or eggs, keep the grounds, bags and shells. Banana peels are good too. Cut them in pieces. You can mix all this into the soil and they are all great for improving the soil. Bone meal is good and thee are other things that you can purchase to put in soil where you are planting bulbs but since most people use these things in their homes very easy and inexpensive for you. By the way, many of the bulbs will still bloom next year if you get it done early fall.
Sue Kiene
on Jun 27, 2016
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Yes, amend the soil, go to your county cooperative agent and get a soil test kit, follow directions and send it in. When you get the results, you can amend your soil as is needed. do this in early fall or even august because the labs can get backlogged later in the year.
Ann Riffe
on Jun 28, 2016
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If you don't understand the results, go back to the cooperative agent for a translation. While the plants are out of the ground, take pictures, make a plan, and follow it. add some perennials that bloom at different times of the year for interest, keep some space for annuals to pop the garden while everything else is not blooming. Also, keep a journal of your garden while in bloom, that way you can tell where everything is.
Ann Riffe
on Jun 28, 2016
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