CULT: Iris Borers
- Subject: CULT: Iris Borers
- From: v* l*
- Date: Tue, 7 Aug 2001 02:57:57 -0700 (PDT)
>
>
> lmmunro@hotmail.com wrote:
> >
> > I plan to wait till maybe early December, when I'm sure
> those b's
> > have laid their vile eggs, then give everything a
> haircut AND blow
> > dry, and cover the whole thing with cedar chips.
> > I dare one borer to show its ugly red head!
>
> Laetitia
--- John Jones <jijones@usjoneses.com> wrote:
>
> Bill Shear's book "The Iris Gardener's Book" goes through
> the life cycle
> of the borer and has suggestions on how best to defeat
> it.
>
> Fall trim and cleanup of debris it the primary
> preventative. I would
> worry a little about the cedar chips unless you are using
> them for some
> other reason. They might provide a shelter for any eggs
> left in the
> ground and possible contribute to rot depending on your
> area.
>
>
> John | "There be dragons here"
> | Annotation used by ancient
> cartographers
> | to indicate the edge of the
> known world.
V. sez:
Having been vigilant in cleaning up all dead leaves and
keeping the garden weed-free going into winter, I can
categorically state that this WILL NOT eliminate borers. I
still have some pop up. I do mulch my weeds and dead
leaves; I have not seen the beds closest to the mulch pile
be any more affected than those farther away. This
indicates to me that the borers are not coming from eggs
overwintering in the mulch - they are still in the beds.
Even though most iris foliage will be pretty tatty
looking by December, there are some varieties that keep
green leaves pretty much throughout the winter. Linda Mann
started a thread on these several years ago, as "evergreen
irises".
One drawback not mentioned to all of this fall
fan-chopping is that it will kill any rebloom chances.
There are many rebloomers that won't rebloom in this area
until late October or later, with some blooming in December
if the weather is cooperative.
=====
Vince Lewonski
vincelewonski@yahoo.com
Secane, Pennsylvania, USA Zone 6b
"If brains were TV shows, I'd be Gilligan's Island!"
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