Re: Cutting Fans

Mr. Wet Green Thumb asks:
>Now that the fans on my Iris are beginning to droop from the weather do
>you recommend cutting them back for the winter. I have always done it
>but an Iris friend has told me not to.

I prefer not to cut the fans unless they are diseased. Arkansas winters are
seesaw affairs with whole weeks of warm weather nestled among freezing
days, and one does see fans sprouting and lengthening and other signs of
activity. If the plant wants to grow it needs energy, and so it's not a
good idea for me to lop off its solar panels.

I've read that some people think intact fans invite aphid damage, but I
haven't seen that here, and frankly, it doesn't make sense to me. Wouldn't
aphid damage be less severe if there were more leaf around the damaged area
to go on collecting energy for the plant?

I do take care to keep dead foliage off the plants in winter, because
insects hide in it.

celia
storey@aristotle.net
Little Rock
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