Re: Re: CULT: TB Fall Growth Question

Hi Dave,

I find your comments interesting.  Where do you live.

Due to Borer problems we have been told to keep the dead leaves cleaned up
so that is my reason for cutting the leaves in late fall.

Char
----- Original Message ----- 
From: <DFerguson@cabq.gov>
To: <iris@hort.net>
Sent: Friday, September 17, 2004 2:15 PM
Subject: Re: [iris] 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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