Well ladies and gentlemen I guess my garden is tacky because after mid 90's and no rain for two weeks I have *gasp* brown tips! Please don't hold it against me.

But Arlyn is right - different places need different methods.

Yes, Leslie, and what we do one summer may not be good the next summer. So even in the same place I have to change what I do in my garden from year to year and even from season to season. I like people being different. I like the reasons why they do different things. I like their stories. I like people. I like irises. I like IRIS PEOPLE!! LOL

Now, if I could just keep the grass out of the iris beds...

Unending task around these parts, Paul!!!

The extra work I took of raising and bordering my beds has really cut down on the weeding. Including keeping grass and the omnipresent ivy out of the beds. Ivy is really tenacious.

It sure is Leslie. And, a lot of people that put it on their homes to climb brick walls are not aware that over time it 'eats' the mortar. At least it does around here.

Yikes!!!

When my mother-in-law passed in 2003, we inherited her small cottage on a lake. She had planted there several irises. We don't get to visit the place but once a month during the summer to cut the grass and nothing has ever been done to the irises and they are thriving. Several years ago before I started to like irises, I tried digging them out and getting rid of them. No such luck, they all came back. So basically, they have really been neglected and when we do get a chance to see them bloom, they do very well. They are in a zone 4b garden and I am wondering if they are probably more of the historic type irises since they have been around for some time.

Post some pictures of those "undesirable" irises that won't go away!

I agree, post pics. I have Quaker Lady that had been neglected for probably 50+ years that I finally rescued from under ivy and periwinkle and they are amazing growers. Would love to know what you have that won't go away!

Inquiring minds want to know.....................

Iris are cut back for shipping, not necessary in the garden. They lose moisture when shipped.

I have learned to cut back Siberian iris in the fall from the Joe Pye Weed people as it can be a mess in the spring otherwise. but not until Oct.

Hemlady said:When my mother-in-law passed in 2003, we inherited her small cottage on a lake. She had planted there several irises. We don't get to visit the place but once a month during the summer to cut the grass and nothing has ever been done to the irises and they are thriving. Several years ago before I started to like irises, I tried digging them out and getting rid of them. No such luck, they all came back. So basically, they have really been neglected and when we do get a chance to see them bloom, they do very well. They are in a zone 4b garden and I am wondering if they are probably more of the historic type irises since they have been around for some time.

Can you describe them, Cindy? There are some very tough old irises that even grow in ditches around here.

I like to cut my iris tops back when they get those spots or dried tips. It makes the garden look neater. If the leaves look good, they stay unless I think the area needs more air circulation within the clump, or if the iris leaves are blocking the view of other plantings around or behind it. They all get cut back in the fall. How short do you cut them? 6" or shorter??
I usually start to divide in August but this year I'm going to begin in July...right now. Mainly because I always run out of time if I wait. Is there a problem with starting to divide iris in early July??

I did most of mine in June this year. More time to have the roots get a good start before the winter sets in. So far, so good.

Shouldn't be any problem Sue -- most of the professional sellers have been digging and dividing already. And you're far enough north to have the same concerns as Dave -- giving the transplants time to set roots and get established before cold weather.

IMHO......Iris are forgiving plants so you can cut back foliage after bloom but ideally green healthy leaves should be left to provide nutrition for growth of new increases and next years bloom. Similar to not cutting the foliage of tulips or daffodils off right after bloom. Fans are trimmed back when replanting to compensated for root loss when the plan is dug. Fewer roots=fewer leaves.

I ususally don't cut the leaves back in the fall, but last year I had a bed that was over crowded, and needed some thinning. By cutting the leaves back it was much easier to see which rhizomes belonged to which cultivar and made it easier to know what I was doing. That bed bloomed as well or better then ever this year. I don't think it did anything to reduce the bloom.. On the other hand, I had a couple of beds where the darn rabbits ate the leaves down to the rhizome, and although they lived, those beds had very poor bloom. One of those beds is where I had lots of early rot, and lost some all toghether. There were lots of rabbit droppings in the area too, and I wonder if that didn't cause a lot of that early rot. This year I'm going to keep some fence around some of the beds, and get my pellet gun out!

Kind of a *shotgun approach* to it, eh Tom? (groannnnnn -- couldn't help myself)