shear all foliage back to about 4–6 in.
above the ground. Pull off any brown
leaves that have shriveled and died
down at the base of the plant. Sheared
plants look as though they’ve had a
crew cut. Individual leaves can be cut
with hand pruners at different angles
to create a slightly more natural look.
This method is preferred by some
gardeners, but it is more time consum-
ing, and personally I feel that the
plants are unattractive under either
pruning regimen. Nevertheless, the
pruned foliage is preferable to the ugly
unpruned foliage taking away fromthe beauty of neighboring perennials.
Pruning tools should be disinfected
before moving on to other perennials.
Dump disease-infected foliage in a pile
by itself where it can break down—do
not compost. Regrowth, if any, can be
slow, taking several weeks. The new
foliage may be partly infested with
disease again by late summer in
humid climates. Cut down all foliage
in autumn after killing frosts and
clean up and remove all debris at the
base of the plants. Borers can overwin-
ter in old leaves and debris. Again, do
not compost clippings.
other maintenance Watch for
foliar diseases, borers, and soft rot.
Plant rhizomes high so that they’re
exposed to the sun in order to reduce
the incidence of soft rot. Well-draining
soil is also necessary to reduce rot.
Rhizomes affected with soft rot should
be dug out and discarded. Dark
streaking in leaves is evidence of
borers; prune off leaves and dig out
affected rhizome. Frequent division is
needed to keep plants vigorous. Divide
after flowering until August, leaving 1
fan per rhizome. Although most
gardeners cut the foliage back when
transplanting, some leave it on. The
feeling is that the foliage aids in the
establishment process, and in flower-
ing for the following season, by
providing more food to the rhizome.
Forms taller than 30–36 in. usually
require staking. Bearded irises have
excellent drought tolerance.
related plantS There are
reblooming bearded irises that can
repeat bloom anytime from late July
until October or November. It’s fun to
see bearded irises with asters, mums,
and pumpkins. Be certain to cut all old
flowering stalks to the ground after the
initial bloom period for a chance at
rebloom. In my experience, the foliage
does not decline as quickly or as
drastically on the reblooming beard-
eds as compared to other forms. Plants
usually don’t start to decline until
early to mid-August. I simply pull off
the poor foliage and trim the tips a bit,
not cutting back heavily. Fresh newIris ×germanica