Because our weather is so different, warm and dry, I had to weed my beds about 6-8 weeks ago so I could fertilize and begin watering. My soil is sandy so the water drains quickly. I'm watering about once a week and have been for over a month now. I'm still dealing with my snail problem and leaf spot is always and issue because many of my irises are in places that receive overspray from the sprinklers that run every night.
Today I spent this morning cleaning out several of the other planter areas where I have killed off the grass and am gradually planting other plants. I would like to eventually mix some historics in with these plants because I think they would do better with the partial shade from the almond trees. I have spent the last 2 weeks trying to get the weeds and bermuda grass under control in the field where I hope to eventually plant all my potted irises. I finally had to hire someone to come in with a tractor (he'll be here tomorrow) to mow down the weeds because the foxtails are beginning to go to seed due to the warm dry weather. I need to get them out of there before the seeds mature and drop.
