Late summer is a good time to divide and clean up all types of iris plants. You can also do this job in early autumn, but make sure you are not digging the iris up close to when you expect the first frost in your area. I use scissors to snip all the iris foliage down to just a few inches tall. I also pull the brown outer leaves off the plants before winter, so they won't attract slugs and snails. If your iris plants have been blooming less, they probably need dividing. Dig the entire clump, toss out the old inner core, and replant the young side shoots by placing the rhizomes just below the surface of the soil. You can use a knife to separate all the rhizomes at the joints. Iris plants love a spot with sun and good drainage. You'll have a blooming bounty of iris in the spring. Keep growing, Marianne Binetti