Re: Re: CULT: TB Fall Growth Question

Like Ellen, I never trim back bearded Iris in fall.  The wild and woolly
look doesn't bother me though.  I do clean them up in the late winter
(usually late February - March) when they kick into good growth again.
Mainly because I like to see all the little green leaves not hidden by
curly dead brown ones.  Sometimes (depending on rocks, shrubs, etc.) I just
run the lawn mower over them.  Usually I have to be a bit more precise.
I've never had problems with foliar diseases, so there is nothing bad in
the leaves.  They seem to help protect the rhizomes a bit from temperature
cycling and desiccation.

The only beardless Iris I grow many of are Spurias and I have a few other
odds and ends.  The leaves are usually laying flat on the ground by spring
and help hold in moisture (what few of them there usually are left after
all the winds).  Since they are basically invisible by that point (I let
grass and other things grow with the Iris), I just leave those leaves lying
where they are and never clean them up.  I might change this as the clumps
grow larger, but for now they look good without any maintainance except
watering and a bit of weeding.

I'm sure the local climate (and soil) make a big difference on what is best
in what region.  There are a lot of differing opinions and practices on
what to do as well.

I'm not in the majority here.  One trend here among local people (not Iris
specialists) is to chop the leaves back to about 5 inches as soon as the
flower fade; plus, a lot of people divide them up and replant them every
year in about May.  They don't get a lot of flowers that way, and I think
they look ugly all summer chopped down that way.   They do look like little
soldiers all lined up neatly in rows though.  By October there is usually
enough new growth that they start to look decent again.  Another common
practice here is to simply ignore them entirely for as long as they exist,
maybe through a little water on them now and then, and a lot of Iris do
just fine that way (they certainly flower a lot better than the ones that
are chopped and divided every year).

Dave

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