Expert: Laura Walker - 5/30/2006

Question
HELLO ,I LIVE IN MICHIGAN.I PLANTED TIGER LILLIES 3 TO 4 YEARS AGO.THEY ARE GETTING REAL THICK IN ONE SPOT OF EACH PLANT.I WOULD LIKE TO KNOW WHEN & HOW TO DIG UP THE BULBS,SEPERATE THE BULBS AND SPREAD THEM OUT, EACH PLANT EVERY YEAR IS MULTIPLYING BUT IN ONE AREA OF EACH PLANT.THANKS COULD YOU EMAIL ME WITH YOUR ANSWER.

Answer
Denise,
Tiger Lilies do get very oversized and take over space very quickly. They are more difficult to divide simply for their larger and taller size and thicker roots than any other lily. They are now coming into bud stage in my area(zone 6) and in areas further south of zone 6 they are in full bloom. In your zone they may not be in bud yet,but I am sure they are quite tall by now and won't be long until they are in bud stage. The best time to divide Tigers is well after bloom and after the foliage has started yellowing. The foliage needs to turn that green foliage into energy for the next years blooms so don't start dividing until you see that foliage turning yellow or brown. Then cut them all the way down to about 10 to 12 inches high.It is easier to find the roots when you don't have to deal with all that foliage.

Make sure you have a sharp spade because the roots are very thick and deep. Just start diging around the plant and pull it out.No need to be careful,they are very tough and will take the abuse.
Use your spade or a flat edging tool and place it into the middle of the plant and stomp down hard on the spade or edging tool(which I prefer to use because of the wider edge).Depending on how large the plant is you may get as many as 4 to 5 clumps from a very large plant! So determine beforehand where you will be placing these in your garden or maybe let some friends and family know that you have extra plants if they would like them.
Just keep repeating this procedure until you have thinned out your space of lilies to your liking.The more you thin out the less you will have to do this in the future.
This is quite a labor intensive job and take your time.It may take several days for you to accomplish this if you get "burned out" or just plain exhausted. So don't worry about them drying out.As soon as you replant and water them,they will not look attractive at all until next season anyway.
Tiger Lilies are a breathtaking sight in full bloom and I have them myself as well as most of my customers. The fruits of your labor will be well worth the extra labor invoved! Good luck to you on all your gardening endeavours!