Yah -- I'm the same as you Bonnie -- too many Irises to dig them all up for cleaning. I admire your work ethic, John -- and suspect that you eliminate a lot of problems doing things that way. Kudos to you for that!!
I work my way through the beds -- removing bloom stalks, pulling dead leaves, sometimes trimming the discolored ones, doing a bit of hand-weeding (this year, in Iris Lane there will be MAJOR weeding), and sprinkling Preen. This year I will be digging overgrown clumps as I go along, because I need to transplant the survivors from the Nursery beds. This is also the time of year that I sprinkle lime on the beds with moss growing. This process usually takes me about a month, as well -- this year it will take a lot longer because I have so few days that I can be at home that I'm not on one mowing machine or the other.
