Here we are almost June in Louisiana and something decided to roll around in my iris bed. I didn't have many blooms at all yet but a lot of the leaves are broken. Not just laid over but actually broken. Assuming I need to cut these just below the break, which is a good bit of plants, is there anything else I need to do to help? I just bought this house this winter and I'm not sure what all is in the bed due to no blooms but I do know southern blue flag is in there. Will these cut plants (anywhere from 4-10in) recover and what can I do to help? Watering rates? The bed is probably 14x6ft. Thanks for any help!

LA, I have had irises stepped on or laid on by animals and the leaves broken. I just cut them and remove them from the bed and let the irises get on with it. Are these bearded irises you are dealing with? I noticed you said you had no bloom this spring. Was this bed newly planted?

I bought the house in October so I can't answer when the bed was planted but it seems rather established and I think it's been there a while. These are the two blooms I have had. The purple picture was taken in early April and the orange picture was taken today. The blades that I have cut seem to be doing poorly with color change. What are the water requirements/needs with these?

grannysgarden said:Are these bearded irises you are dealing with?

The orange is not bearded. Judging by the pictures of the purple, it does not look bearded either.

The orange bloom is a daylily, not an iris. It needs at least part sun, and despite nursery hype, it is not really drought tolerant. (I grow a lot of them, so believe me, I know.) Basically fertilize in the spring and then again in the fall (to set buds for next season), using time release fertilizer that is roughly 3-1-2 NPK (or at worst 1-1-1 NPK), preferably with micronutrients. Also, in spring it is helpful to give it a dose of minerals (Ca, Mg, Fe) and also give it some alfalfa meal (make sure it doesn't have salt, use the horticultural kind, not stuff from an animal feed store) which provides slow release nitrogen and growth hormones. (Daylilies are heavy nitrogen feeders and they love alfalfa!)

Do NOT overwater and/or have a lot of fertilizer in hot weather, as that promotes rot.

Do NOT water at night - make sure there will be plenty of time for the foliage to dry, because many daylilies are susceptible to foliar diseases, the worst of which is daylily rust.

The other one looks like it may be a beardless iris, but I defer to the experts on same.

Polymerous said:The orange bloom is a daylily, not an iris. It needs at least part sun, and despite nursery hype, it is not really drought tolerant. (I grow a lot of them, so believe me, I know.)

The other one looks like it may be a beardless iris, but I defer to the experts on same.

Upon closer inspection of the blades/leaves, it appears I may have several different things going on here. They seemed to all be cohabiting quite well until this recent critter disaster. The blades I have cut don't seem to be doing very well. Edges turning yellow with brown spots etc. I've given up on blooms this year due to having cut so much. I'm just trying to keep the bed going for fall/next year so I don't have to start over.

That doesn't sound too good.

At least you can weed it, and put down mulch, right?

The daylily may need some water. I think the rule of thumb is an inch a week (though being in S. CA you may need more). Another rule of thumb is to use other plants, like Shasta daisies, as a guidepost. If the daisies are drooping, then the daylilies need a drink too.

I think the purple one is a dutch iris. It will flower in spring, and then die down to nothing and go dormant each year in autumn and winter.

@LA_GreenThumb
Just catching up. The iris above looks like a Louisiana to me. There are several growers of Louisiana irises on this site who can give pointers. Your bed looks crowded; if you didn't get much bloom this year you may need to redo the bed.
@Lestv
@dragonfetti
@bluegrassmom

The blue looks like a species iris. I think you referred to it as blue flag? An awful lot of different iris are grouped under that name, but regardless of that as a species you will want to give it some extra water and, unless it has a very bearded iris type rhizome, you will want to put mulch over it to help retain moisture and prevent rhizome burn. Your picture makes me think it is the type that needs mulch.