Re: Help with borer
- To: Multiple recipients of list <i*@rt66.com>
- Subject: Re: Help with borer
- From: I*@aol.com
- Date: Tue, 29 Jul 1997 03:20:17 -0600 (MDT)
In a message dated 97-07-29 03:31:16 EDT, you write:
>
>First I'd like to thank Kathy Guest for her info on the life cycle of the
>Infamous borer. I have a couple of questions. Wwhen the borer leaves the
>rhizome can it enter another rhizome thru the dirt or can it only enter thru
>the leave route and once it leaves the rhizome it can only go to the next
>stage, the pupa.
By the time the borer finishes off your $40 introduction, it's like your
brother-in-law after pizza, beer and a football game... too wasted to move.
It just wants to go to bed (pupate). Actually, I never thought about it,
but I doubt a borer travels between irises.
If I remove iris
>debris will that help. I had seen somewhere that spreading garden netting
>over a flowwer garden in the fall will allow you to just lift off netting in
>the spring along with the leaves and they won't get in among the plants. I
>may try this after a fall clean up of iris debris.
I've heard that technique advanced... but don't know of anyone who has
reported back. Another possibility is floating row covers. I also know a
hybridizer who takes a butane torch to his iris field in the spring and BURNS
off the old foliage and, therefore, the irisborer eggs! (Warning... this is
NOT 100% effective, although it's a great theroy... and, of course, there's
always the chance of burning down the house).
Kathy Guest, E. Aurora, NY
