RE: Iris borer

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Very late condolences about your father, Dennis.  I didn't know.

We don't have the iris borer here on the prairies, but since the lily beetle made its way here a few yrs ago, I'm sure the borer won't be far behind.  I never clean up the garden for winter, as all that old foliage holds the snow on the plants, instead of blowing it right off the beds and down to Cincinnati.

El, Ste Anne, Manitoba, Canada

About once every 5 years I forget to trim back & discard my iris foliage in winter.  It's a trick my grandma had for controlling iris borer (get rid of the foliage, gets rid of the eggs).  Once again I *completely* forgot to do it.  In fairness, I had lots of distractions, death of my father, layoffs at work, major car repairs, REALLY bad weather, etc., etc.  For me it was a rough winter, and now for my irises it's a rough summer.  But they'll recover in a couple years.  I just have to remember my wintertime chores!  My water irises are fine, though.  Borers can't breathe underwater!  My bearded irises though... wow, boy do they look sad.

Dennis in Cincy