Hi, I was curious about what everyone does after the bloom season is over. We have had a lot of rain and my foliage looks very brown and spotty on most cultivars. A few leaves are rotting and loose anyway Should I cut it back now? I am planning on leaving a few bee pods to develop. Is it to early to trim? Any help will be appreciated.

Teresa

I don't usually trim leaves back at all, just keep the dead ones pulled off. Some people do trim them back. I have done that when I have an unusual year of ugly leaves. I don't think it really matters one way or the other. When to do that I'm not sure what others do in your zone. I would remove the spent bloom stalks right away though. I usually just start enjoying the lilies and day lilies that follow the irises.

I think it is because we have had so much rain, but my leaves look nasty.

Mine too, Teresa. And I'm still finding rotting fans. I've started my cleanup -- I cut or break off spent bloom-stalks, remove dead or rotting leaves -- and this year I am cutting back foliage. Especially in the Nursery beds, the leaves look SO bad I can't stand it. Also -- eliminating a lot of foliage allows sun/air to get to the rhizomes and I'm feeling like that's important this year.

I have some iris with very tall leaves, so along with removing all the stalks except those with bee pods, I will be cutting the fans a bit to allow the gardens to dry out. Lots of cleanup to do with weeding and removing of leaves too because of the constant rain this year. Then I really need to build the beds that are still not started. Help!

Now you order more...

Thanks, Mary Ann. I will be trimming this afternoon. More rain now

Order more!

My iris are just getting warmed up here in SE Idaho. However we had a bad frost 2 weeks ago and I think a lot of the spathes on the early ones froze. They look desiccated and what blooms did survive are showing like a discolored, arthritic hand with the gnarled petals in cupping shape. They have no true iris form, but the later blooms on the same stalk are blooming better.

I cut the stalks and any leaves that look really bad, leave the rest. I usually sprinkle some preen around.

Cry.

I try to take the high road and think...next year, next year, next year. It doesn't work. It usually turns to waaaaaaaah!

I cut stalks and anything unsightly. If I see they're sinking into the soil I build them up. I've tried growing corms (glads and crocs) in the thick of iris clumps to take further advantage of the foliage to no avail. Shade? I might transplant some healthy "up and running" specimens this year? I've grown crocosmia directly behind irises in the past and the view from a distance would easily fool anyone that didn't know what they were looking at...

With that said, in mixed beds I enjoy iris foliage throughout the season.

I remove all the spent stalks, remove the dead leaves, trim away all of the leaf spot and any trim back the leaves that are touching the ground.

This is my next favorite time of the year. I set up my outside work area with a table that is a little taller then waist high. I then dig up each clump and bring it to the table. There I cut all blooms stalks all the way down to the rhizome. I remove all dead or older fans, exposing the rhizome to more air. I do any necessary surgery and sprinkle with comet with bleach. I then replant the clump and give the mother rhizome a good rinsing with MKP solution. In doing this I also get to thinning if needed. This year there is more urgent need in thinning due to Iris Virus!!! I'm not at all where I want to be in the process due to the very excessive rain. I really dislike working in mud but not much choice.
It is also great therapy for RA. The chemo and steroid treatments aren't working so a good workout in the garden seems to help. I can usually get about 5 miles in equivalent steps in each day and hopefully by the end of June I'll be done, found room for the newbies, have one new bed built and lose 15 or 20 pounds.

Blessings

@John, what is MKP solution? What is its purpose? A newbie asking!

MKP is 0-52-34 fertilizer that is water soluble. I use 1 teaspoon per gallon of water in a sprayer. The rhizomes seem to really love it. I've been using it for five years now.

Blessings

Ah-ha! Thanks, John!

Mine are just getting going in Michigan. It's a bummer whenever finish blooming. Hoping I get some ore blooms out of the rebloomers

Then we'll rely on you to furnish pictures of your Iris season, Lynn!! It'll ease the pain of ours shutting down for the year...............