CULT: Cutworms... was % of losses

Lora,

Since we live in a similar climate let me warn you about cutworms.  Just
what you wanted to hear right?  Anyway, cutworms are the larval stage of
a moth.  If you notice small holes or "chews on your iris leaves be
suspicious of the cutworm.  Take a butter knife or something similar and
carefully dig down right next to the iris plant about 1 to 2 inches. 
They usually wedge themselves right up against the plant.  The plant is
their food.  There can be more than one around an iris.  They are
usually 1 inch in length and a grey/green color.  Sometimes they can
completed cut off a leaf and somtimes the stalk itself.  Some years are
worse then others. The last two days I walked completely around my
garden checking for them.  Got about 50.  Unfortunately the only way you
can spot them is by the damage they have done.  However you can get
satisfaction by taking the butter knife and cutting them in half. 

I hear that they feed at night and this may be true, however I never
went out at night with a flashlight to prove this.  But it must be true
as I never see them during the day unless I dig.

This may be the Master Gardner's problem, but I don't know because I do
not know who this person is and where they are from.

Rick Tasco
Superstition Iris Gardens
Central California
Zone 8
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