I'm in Austin, TX and purchased three Black Gamecock Irises from Lilypons last year about this time I believe. They seem to be growing well. I have the bottoms of the pot about two inches into the water (of my pond) and about two inches of the pot out of the water. The ends of the leaves fade to a yellow. And I've had two blooms just now from one plant. The others have never bloomed.

They need to be split apart I think. I have many leaves and stocks now coming out of each pot. But I'm wondering about suggestions.

Should I (20/20 hindsight) have split them up sooner in the season?

Should I wait until winter to split them up?

And, how can I encourage them to bloom more? Last year I fed them a tab each month. This year I have not started that back up yet.