I cant use a systemic. The bees are already working on the blossoms all around the house. Bumbles too so I cant kill them.

Since bees....honey, mason,or bumble....are insects, ANY insecticide will hurt them! Here (and I have lots of bees, since we are "beekeepers") I seldom, if ever, see a bee on an iris blossom.....until late in the year, when the 'rebloomers" are blooming. The reason, I think, is there are so many OTHER blossoms that tempt the bees more in the spring . And, since I have my iris in beds, by themselves, with no other flowers, I feel pretty safe using insecticides (systemic or contact) on my iris, in the spring. Later, for the rebloomers, I use other methods.
I think the "key" to using any *garden chemical* (and this also applies to those "organic controls", that supposedly safe for pets and wildlife) is to only use what you NEED to use, follow ALL the directions, only use it at the 'proper time" to control what you are *targeting*, and THINK , and do your research , before you use them .

Bees here are out too early gathering pollen for use of a systemic. They work all the fruit blossoms, hollies, daffys, muscari, and irises.

If he was locally grown how did he get to my brand new garden? Not that many people grow lots of iris around here, so I doubt the eggs were in the garden soil I had delivered. The moth would have had to flown in and laid eggs. Are the eggs so small they wouldn't be visable? I don't know that I have ever seen pictures of the eggs.

There has been no plant debris around my iris since they were planted. All fallen leaves and pine needles were raked out. Clean as a whistle, but still....

Whistles aren't very clean, they are full of spit.

It's a nasty mystery how it got there Leslie. If you see another one, take some photos of it before you send it to meet its maker.

I certainly will. I was wondering why I only had half a flower and then was freakrd out by it being in there. Squash is a natural instinct.

Today I got to squish and fling about a hundred of those nasty little inchworms. The front yard with the banded oak trees is relatively worm free, but the backyard is another story. They love to hide along the edge of a fan leaf and pretend they are camouflaged enough that you don't see them. Ha! I am on to that game!

My "goners" list from this weekend.

Enchanted Memory
Gingeruffle
Brillant Disguise
Jazz Band
Heardit Thruda Grapevine

Oh no!!! sorry to hear that Greg. I suppose I should list some of my goners too:

Happenstance
Aggressively Forward
Absolute Cute
Stellar Lights
Golden Panther (re-ordered)

There are at least 2 more, but I don't have them marked so I'm not sure yet what they are. I'll know based on what blooms around them.

Leslie, that is not a borer, even in your area. Sounds like a flying critter laid eggs on the top of the stalk somewhere and when hatched ate away.
Sorry on those losses Greg and Liz; no help from here as I don't have those.
One more goner has returned to life for me!

I do think it is quite early for borers to have gotten fat even with the unseasonably warm weather. I have seen borers in the flowers at times but not this early. I do not know how they get there but it happens. I have spent the day dousing all of my irises with various sorts of chemicals to see which one works best. I have used 2-in-1 and All in One and Fertilome Tree and Shrub Drench as well as the Bayer Season Long granules. Mostly Merit only lasts about a month so must reapply. I do not know if that applies to Season Long Grub Control. And I have NEVER seen a borer egg. I think they are extremely small.
Moths can still lay their eggs in the fall and can wander over from other yards to land in yours. Sad but true.

One of my losses has returned from the goners list. Sugar Magnolia, which died back early last summer, has put up two little fans. I could not even find a rhizome last fall. It may be a year or two before it blooms but at least it made it.

Bonnie, That's good news when they do that.

So nice when a "dead" one comes back to life and gives a great surprise "here I am again."

Happy for you Bonnie. Sugar Magnolia is a beauty!!!

DaveinPA said:So nice when a "dead" one comes back to life and gives a great surprise "here I am again."

Uh...you ARE talking about iris right?

Darcy,
mostly iris, other species might be good also, but some would be downright scary!

Well they aren't goners but I have A LOT of frost damage this year, and it has affected many of the center fans. We had very warm weather, then snow, then warm weather, then an ice storm, and the cold periods really made an impact. I am guessing many will not bloom this year, or if they do I will have a ton of chimeras.

And a squirrel dug in a pot and broke the entire fan off my Terracotta Bay.

I'm sorry Leslie! I know how frustrating that is! My dog broke off a bunch of stalks last year chasing a ball down our back hill. I almost puked.

That's terrible! I accidentally damaged an increase today when I was peeling back a dead leaf and I almost cried. Luckily it isn't a favorite. What does frost damage look like?