I like this, I have been ordering Iris and I have in the back of my mind, a lot will probably end up with leaf spot here. Right now every iris I have had to have at least 50% of the leaves cut for leaf spot. In a couple weeks there will probably be more to cut. If you look at my plant list you can see which ones I have. Beverly Sills was a new one for me last year and it was the worst so far. I have Lent A. Williamson, (I id'd it myself by chance) it didn't have much spot at all. I just dug it up, discarded all the mother rhizomes and replanted the good ones. I am new to this. I had them for along time, from a friend, but I didn't know how to divide them. I decided since I have been bitten by the Iris bug I really need to learn the right way to divide!

Should mention, Some of the Iris in my list I don't have yet, if it says 2015 next to it it is on order.

Sounds like you're doing a good job, Meredith!

We have been talking about leaf spot on a FB forum, and Chuck Chapman says he doesn't treat leaf spot. It does more damage to cut too much of the foliage as it is needed for plant energy. Just pull off the all brown ones and cut off the worst of the spot from individual leaves if it bothers you. It doesn't really hurt the plant. I am going to add some lilies and daylilies in front of my irises to kind of mask them when they are at their worst. And some people spray and spray and swear by it.

You can use a fungicide spray if you get a lot of leaf spot. I use two different ones, probably not as often as I should, in the summer since the high humidity here can really increase the amount of leaf spot. And I always remove the brown leaves. I find my iris are happiest when I keep the garden beds clean. I have raised beds which has really helped keep the weeds from taking over.

I don't really get leaf spot that much but I have a spray if it gets bad. I pull off all brown leaves and the ones with leaf spot do not bother me that much. Sometimes the leaves are the only things that will have symptoms if you are having an iris problem so I don't trim them off. two years ago I had so many different grasshoppers eating every thing in site that the leaves on most plants, including irises, were chewed on. The ragged looking edges did bother me a bit. I thought about using something on them the next year if it was that bad but we went back to having normal hopper infestations.

caitlinsgarden said:We have been talking about leaf spot on a FB forum, and Chuck Chapman says he doesn't treat leaf spot. It does more damage to cut too much of the foliage as it is needed for plant energy. Just pull off the all brown ones and cut off the worst of the spot from individual leaves if it bothers you. It doesn't really hurt the plant. I am going to add some lilies and daylilies in front of my irises to kind of mask them when they are at their worst. And some people spray and spray and swear by it.

That is good to hear. I only have been cutting them because everything I have read on caring for Iris said I should or it would spread. I actually would prefer to just plant Daylilies or other perennials that fill in to hide them after their season is done. Originally I just left them but I thought f I kept cutting the bad stuff it would help keep it from getting as bad.

I did find that Sevin Dust does a quick and easy fix to grasshoppers eating the rhizomes. They only go after the young/small in my gardens but a sprinkle of Sevin drove them away. Between saving rhizomes and nixing ground wasps I am feeling fond of the Sevin.

It's my understanding that leaf spot comes from dirt splashing on the leaves. The fungus is in the soil, it's normal for it to be there, and it cannot be eradicated. Trimming the leaves or not is personal preference. The leaf spots do not spread from leaf to leaf.

Which is good news Mary Ann or I might have a few naked iris!

Oh my -- can't have Naked Irises -- gasp!!!!!!

Well I should say leafless, but either way the poor rhizome is exposed.....

Leslie, I think it was some kind of hopper plague we were having. I used sevin dust liberally and often. The hoppers that year did not come in their regular cycles. They came all at once and stayed the duration. I had friends who went to the garden and filled up mason jars in a short walkabout. They use them for fishing. Easy to catch bait when there are three different kinds of hoppers on one iris blade. Our local stores sold out of sevin dust and had to order more. I started using comet hoping it was gritty enough and they would not eat it. They just kept coming and snacking. They are nasty things when you walk on them a bit.

I just read about the leaf spot on the Chapman Iris website. It said they think Daylilies host it and I do get it on my Daylilies. It said quote, "The fungus spores are in the soil. They are more prevalent if infected leaves are left over winter. So a clean up of infected leaves in fall can help reduce amount of fungus spores present." So I will just leave it until fall.

I find that constantly taking away the dead, or all brown, leaves cuts way down on leaf spot. Also, anything that might live or lay eggs on garden debris are not welcome in my irises so a tidy bed is a healthier bed. smiles

Totally agree with that, Bonnie. And at this time of the year -- it's an unending job. As new leaves are formed, the oldest ones keel over.

My garden is nowhere near perfect or weedfree, nor is my house, but it gives me much pleasure regardless.

Bonnie - I know you can use borax to kill crickets because it chews up their insides. But I don't suppose there is a way to use it in the garden with grasshoppers as a Sevin substitute? Probably an issue with a build up of borax in the soil, but it would otherwise be worth a try.