Re: CULT:Borer Horror Story

From: "Kevin or Cheryl Oke" <okephoto@gulfislands.com>

Oh my gawd!  I will go right up to my iris beds (where my daylilies are,
too)
tomorrow and rip out all that dead and dying foliage.  What a horror story!
My problem has always been that my iris are, if anything, too prolific
(haven't
time to divide, divide, divide and they always conquer), but they are
friends, and
I would hate to lose them to something as preventable - apparently - as iris
borer.  There are times I understand my closest friend's aversion to tending
anything
in the garden (her husband is the gardener in their household) except the
patio
stones!  And to lose all those beautiful Beverly Sills, too!  It would break
my
heart.  You know, until I recently became an iris-talk participant, I never
worried
much about my iris.  Now I feel that I have to fumigate, shave, fertilize
with
exotic materials such as alfalfa pellets, keep a vigilant eye out for signs
of
iris borer damage - and maybe even try my hand at hybridizing if I am to
consider myself a true irisarian!  What a responsibility!

From the Wet Coast, Chery Oke
-----Original Message-----
From: Michael D. Greenfield <redear@infinet.com>
To: Iris Talk <iris-talk@onelist.com>
Date: October 27, 1998 6:51 PM
Subject: [iris-talk] CULT:Borer Horror Story


>From: "Michael D. Greenfield" <redear@infinet.com>
>
>Its that time of year for Horror stories.
>My first experience with borers was when I saw one eating a seed pod
>(August). Could not believe how fast and how big. Looked like a huge
>pinkish cut worm. I did not know what it was and had never heard of an iris
>borer.
>
>Well that May I had promised a friend to trade some Iris. She called to
>tell me (September) that if I wanted any Iris I better get them before the
>worms ate all of them.
>
>I went . We had marked Beverly Sills in May , probably 8 or 9 fans. It was
>gone. We dug were it had been and found 25 or 30 worms In rotting pieces of
>rhizomes almost every one we dug had worms in it. That is where there was
>any left to dig.
>
>She probably had 10 bushel of rhizomes in the spring. One bushel left that
>fall. It was unreal. Never have seen anything like it since. This was in
>1992.
>
>It was too rainy this year and I only had 8 to10 worms and some old worm
>damage. I had not dug some for 2 and 3 years. Since I have been cleaning up
>dead leaves spotlessly
>I have not had much trouble. My friend did not follow this practice. She no
>longer wants Iris.
>
>Something like this might make you want to use sprays.
>
>There was talk (Dennis Kramb) of mowing. that would not get the ones in the
>ground, and I have seen them as late here as the first of November.
>
>
>
>Michael D. Greenfield
>redear@infinet.com
>In downtown Middletown
>Southeastern Ohio
>Zone 5or6 ?
>AIS MVIS
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