You can do it now - best to dig up the whole clump initially though. If you find the corms have formed long strings, one on top of the other, don't separate those, just split the clump and replant as they are.

Seeing there are garden spiders all over them could I wait till spring, as have a fear of them spiders LOL

Give 'em a good bash with a stick, the leaves I mean, they'll run off. I'm surprised you've still got the topgrowth on, I cut mine down at least a month ago, to about an inch above ground level. No spiders on mine!

Supplementary question for Bamboo. Why do you leave the string of corms intact to plant again? I always thought that the top corm was next years growth and the ones beneath were spent corms so could be broken off and thrown away. I also have full green foliage on my Lucifers. I have white hellebores flowering and flower buds on my Japanese Quince. Strange year!!

Lady Essex given your, and the spiders size, May I suggest you get over it! They can't possibly hurt you!

Are you scared of anything Moon growe?

My mother ensured I had a phobia for spiders when I was a child. So I started to learn as much about them as possible... phobia went without me even realising and, the only thing on this planet that scares me is humanity!

If you have some long handled shears try cutting them down, leave them for a while, long enough for the spiders to go away and then collect the fallen leaves with a long handled rake. Bingo, you can dig in safety.

Barbarak - well you're right, you can just go through the lot and twist off the top corm and replant those and bin the rest of the strings, but I obviously wasn't clear enough - I was trying to say don't split the strings of corms and give some of those to your friend, because they're old and will take some years to produce anything useful.

I don't worry about the strings, depends how much time I've got whether I can be bothered to sort through and break off the top ones - usually just split the clump and shove the whole lot back in the ground because its much quicker. Costs the customer more if I sort through them...