Iris Fall Cleanup for Bearded Iris Plants - do this before Winter

During the autumn months it is very important to help many of our herbaceous perennials 'go to rest' over winter. One plant that I love to grow is the bearded Iris (Iris germanica). These are exceptionally beautiful plants that are very low maintenance and produce tons of late spring or early summer flowers. They're also sun lovers and quite drought tolerant, making them a great addition to many hot, sunny gardens.

Once fall hits it is important to tend to your plants so that they can hibernate in peace and wake up next spring ready to grow their hearts out for you.

If you enjoy this video don't forget to subscribe and give the video a like so that it can be shared to more of our fellow plant lovers! #iris #fallgarden #gardening #plantcare #irisgermanica

[northidahofinegardening]

Hi Devin, I'm new to your channel. I love your videos and your passion for plants! I dont usually comment on vids, but I thought I might offer some knowledge about iris' as I caretake many iris gardens in my area as a professional gardener. Typically yellow leaves with a mushy rotting bottom is due to overwatering and/or too much mulch coving the tops of your Iris tubers. Its a huge issue we battle in the area I live in due to our poor draining clay soils. The rot at the bottom of the yellow leaves is a dead giveaway that your tubers may have too much mulch on them or you need to water them less. In my area we have to plant them raised alittle bit to keep them well drained. Hope this comment helps. Keep up the great gardening!

[deborahdarling]

The greens flop because that is what they do! When they start i cut them back to about 4” above ground. Then they can continue to feed their bulbs and not look unsightly. I learned this from my master gardener husband:)

[leticiacanelas]

I admired young guys like who has passion for plants, hope all young adults like you will also use their time wisely and be productive. Good luck to your channel.

[caspiana]

I don't think the yellow leaves that you yanked out are diseased. It's the normal end stage of the leaf, if left untouched most of them will wilt and dry and then you can remove all of them at once. The clump will look better when trimmed, of course, but that is not necessary.

[deborahdarling]

Hi! Found your channel & it seems you garden like me. A suggestion about the aphids-
I have a rose bush that always gets eaten by those critters. I can’t bring myself to use chemicals and have tried nearly everything else to save that silly rose bush.
Below and around the rose I have hostas that are just huge. Spiders like to web them so I take the hose on full spray and knock off the webs, flower drops, whatever. So out of desperation I turned that hose onto my rose bush. At first nightly because after the first time the baby leave’s survived the aphids thru the next day! So every other night I sprayed at full blast that rose bush and within a week I had buds! The bush swayed like it was under a firehose to be sure but I think it just plain knocked the aphids off. Neem oil concoctions didn’t achieve that!
So I regularly give my plants a regular spray to water, clean up what is in them, and apparently that includes bugs:)
Just an idea. Good show!

[barbarawilson]

Excellent! I have not cared for my irises correctly so this was an important lesson!

[Patrick]

The German Iris is actually my favorite flower. And I used to live in Pennsylvania and when I did I had a lot of them. But I had to move to Florida 10 years ago and sadly they don't grow down here and I really miss having them!

[peggydiorio]

Iris were my Mom's favorite. I am building an iris garden in memory of her. I stopped quick when I saw the title of this video. I want to know as much as I can about how to care for them. I used to take care of her iris for her. She had me get them ready for winter (Michigan, mid-lower peninsula) exactly as you did yours. Seems like she knew what she was doing.

[pollykent]

Just discovered you. This is a great video. I transplanted a bunch of irises this year. I will now go out and trim them all to the ground. Very helpful!

[trishferrer]

My goodness, that looked so easy, since the bed is raised, instead of ground level. THANK YOU for explaining about the diseased leaves! And for the whole video.

[jerrycallison]

Thanks for the informative video. I've had Irises for years, but never knew how to care for them in the fall. I'll start trimming right away.

Suggestion re: aphids. Applications of Worm Compost Tea periodically through the summer will strengthen the cellular walls providing thicker membranes that aphids, mites, thrips, whiteflies, etc. have trouble piercing. They will then move on to weaker, more sickly plants and leave yours alone. It's something I learned at the Northern Illinois Worm Farm, and I've found it helpful.

[sharryjones]

I love the look and esthetic of your iris bed in this video. Just lovely.

[danabrown]

I finally found a garden channel with someone from my state! This will be a lot more helpful 👍🏽

[elizabethnelms]

Thanks so much! I am in TN. My irises are from my mom. She got them from her mom in PA. So special!

[mypiuef]

Thanks for telling us WHERE you are gardening.

[leahkramer]

Awesome straight to the point video, thank you!

[barbarahering]

So it was overcast here yesterday in Florida so I finished separating and cutting back my iris yesterday. I so hope this promotes blooms this next spring. Thanks for inspiring to get this done. ❤️

[bindasbudiya]

Hi... tomorrow I am going to 0lant my iris..that's why I am here...Thank you so much...😊

[tomnelson]

Thank you. I never did know what to do to prepare for winter.

[judyboyle]

First time I saw one of your videos, my boyfriend sent it to me (LOL). We now know how to take care of our Irises. Just subscribed. Look forward to some more.🌺🌻