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Most bulbs and corms naturally produce small bulblets or cormlets,
which arise from their baseplates, where over time these will develop into
full sized bulbs producing congested clumps where at the centre of the
clump they either produce weak flowers or fail to flower, followed by the
centre of the clump dying out leaving only a ring of flowering bulbs on
the outside.
This natural tendency to produce new bulblets can be harnessed for
propagation purposes, where it is a simple matter of lifting established
clumps after the leaves have died back, separating the older bulbs and
removing embryonic bulbs by gently rocking them until they come free from
the parent bulb; after which the parent bulbs can be replanted or stored
and bulblets potted up and grown on. It will take about 4 years for
bulblets to grow to flowering size
If the clump is left in the ground, usually only the stronger bulblets
will survive and produce new plants, the smaller and more insignificant
bulblets naturally dying as they lose out in the competition with their
siblings for nutrients and available moisture.
It is a matter of personal choice as to whether you wait until clumps
of bulbs have become congested before lifting and dividing them, or whether you
lift clumps ahead of the point where clumps become congested. I prefer to
get in there early before the congestion occurs and whilst the bulbs in
the clump are still of a reasonable size and able to produce good flowers
the following year.
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