Iris Bed

I took out a monster tree that was on the west side of my house, because it was too close to my house. Up until now, I have had Hostas planted alongside that wall, where they have done OK. In the SW corner I have had some NOID TB's for many years - they get just enough sun.

The last couple of years, that clump has done poorly, but still managed to bloom. I suspect the huge amounts of rain, cold weather, etc have contributed to the problem.

As I was moving the hosta to another shady area in the yard, I came up with the brilliant idea to use this now sunny bed, for my TB's. I was going to build a new bed for the TB's in another section of the yard, but the new daylily bed I just finished, took a month longer than I expected (I do everything myself) and costs were more than I planned. In addition, because of the house overhang, this bed does not get a lot of rain, and I have to water the hosta, even on rainy days. The corner where the TB's are is the one exception due to it's angle.

I started digging around those NOID TB's. planning to dig all of them out, throw away the bad ones, keep any that looked OK and replant them, then work on moving my other TB's to this bed, which would have only iris. But the NOIDS are full of BUGS. Mostly earwigs and goodness knows what else. For now, I poured some of the Bayer "all in one" Rose care solution over everything.

Any other thoughts and suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Do I need to dig out some of the dirt there & replace it? Or do you think just treating the soil will do the trick?

Also, when I move my current TB's to this bed later this summer, how far apart should I plant them? I have them in sections of several beds, and some of them increased a LOT last year - more than I expected. (not that I am complaining)

Thanks
~Jan

TB irises should be at least 2 ft apart. they will spread that will fill up your bed. Add compost, they are heavy feeders. Have any old leaf mold around?

No leaf stuff- not until fall. But I DO have lots of compost available! Thanks

Sarah has iris borer in her gardens, except the new garden where the cherry tree came down.
All of her old ones are gonners.

.She went online to see how to treat the gardens and it prettymuch looks like" slash and burn,leave no man standing"/

I am concerned for the iris I just planted duering the last 2 weeks. They are in new gardens except for the Gypsy Romance,Davey Jones, and Twiggi that are near the inherited iris in the lasagna garden. I will check that area for rot and borer when the sun comes up.

I drenched all my iris last april. I cant remember if I drenched Sarahs or not..Guess not.

My question is "are my gardens safe?" I sure dont want to loose any of the pretties before they have a chance to bloom.

Should we treat the old garden with Bayer Tree and Shrub?

Oh goodness, I never thought of Iris Borer. I am new to Iris, although I have gotten some over the last 3 years, but these iris are far from the other beds I currently have, and these NOIDS have been located here for about 10 years.

In fact, I know nothing at all about the iris borer. ~j

There are borers in the iris we inherited with this house bought 4 years ago.
I just checked and the rizomes have trails in them and are mushy.
I dug the whole 2 plants.They werent very big because they have been disappearing since we bought the place. No wonder I saw fewer blooms.
I planned and planted 3 new iris in that area just 2 weeks ago.Hope I dont loose them.

I plan to lay down leaf compost in September.

DD has checked online and believes digging out the whole plant pluss keeping the newly planted ones trimmed and the rest of the garden clean will help for now.
Come spring I will drench with Imidiclopid and see if I can stave off any borers that might have settled in .

If any iris experts see a flaw in my plan.Please point it out. I have replacement hips and bending to constantly garden is not my idea of fun, so if there is something I can do for long term ,let me know.
.

If you put out Merit (Imidiclopid) when you have 2 consecutive days of 70 degree weather in the spring, you should be able to control any borers you may have. You will need to do this for a couple of years in a row, until they are gone. When I first moved to my new place, I had them terribly, but I've been treating my beds every year (for the past 6 years), and I have not seen any for 2 years now. I don't know if I will treat again next spring, since it seems like I am clean now. You can't do a "once and done", since these things turn into moths that lay eggs that overwinter. I may just do it every other year from now on, just to make sure. The borers can really do a lot of damage!

Sue - Taylorsville, KY Zone 6a

Thats great advise.
I believe its close to what I did for the first time this spring. I think Merit is a commercial growers product but no matter.I used Bayer 12 month Tree and Shrub which contains the same ing. I drenched all the iris I could find nd believe I hit DD's garden. If as you say they take years to get rid of borer with regular spring treatment,I still have a ways to go.
Its worth it to know that.

I also drench my emerging lilies with the same product at the same time to combat Red Lily Beetle.

I went to a garden center and talked to their Perennial person and asked if there was something I could do to protect the dozen + iris I just planted. She didnt seem enthusiastic about protection now but did sell me a Bonide granular systemic product which I applied. Twenty bucks is worth some peace of mind.
She also added the borers LOVE clay soil which we have .

I am less stressed knowing I shouldnt expect complete radication in one season.
Its just that some of the iris I recieved were special and I doubt I will be able to replacethem.

Ahhhhh well we'll see next spring.

I've never heard the 'love clay soil' bit. We hand pick as I don't like the chemical in Merit. Over the years they have gone down in occurance. You do have to keep after them. A friend has had luck with nematoads. Borer moths do like to hang out among shrubs. If you keep an eye out for damage when they are still in the leaves (watery edge) you can get them before they descend into the rhizomes.

So instead of trying to dig out this corner- it might be wasted energy anyways, I should just leave it empty for the rest of the season perhaps? Then treat in the spring and try again? I can start planting my iris from the other end (leaving 2 feet between them!)

Gotta finish removing those scorched hosta first! Thanks for the information!

Granted, this hasn't removed the bugs like earwigs that are all over the place right there,but hopefully the Bayer flower stuff worked on that problem ~j

Did the hosta get too much sun? Borers have probably shot their bold by this time of yr. Watch the leaves for a watery edge & you can squash them befor they hit the rhizome. If you see any damage open the leaves & look for the borer. they will be quite small at that stage.

Once the tree was removed, the hostas are suffering and scalding now. I am trying to get them moved to a different location as soon as possible.

I know there are bugs, like earwigs & who knows what else. I would not be surprised if there are also borers - this clump has done poorly the last few years. Will have to look closer when I am digging them out.

Replanting irises away from the shrubbery will help. Poor hostas, sending love!