I have a large patch of irises that are way past their prime and should be removed. They are coming up through the interlocking pavers. I want these guys GONE but I simply can't dig them out. I can't get a shovel through them. I've been spraying Roundup on them for the last two weeks but it doesn't seem to be doing the trick. Is there anything that will get rid of them quickly? Would boiling water work? Anything that would make them easier to dig out? Help!
Killing irises
What kind of iris are they Liz?
Big old Dutch irises - when I lost interest in them years ago I sort of deregistered the name in my brain. Sorry~~
BOOM! FAINTING!!!OMG!!! No No say it isnt SO!!!
I take it that nobody ever removes old iris clumps. notmartha - please drive up and dig them out! LOL
Liz i really wish I could-I have a new LUV for Iris's!
kinda like those Hosta people!!! ;)
Im just goint to take it ez today!
Boo Hooo Hooooo!!! Say it ain't so, Liz!!
I'll take what you can get out.....and yes, boiling water and vinegar will kill them....I feel like kickin' myself for telling you that!!
"eyes"
OK - think of it as a mercy killing - I've totally neglected them so I'm just putting them out of their misery. Is that better?
Vinegar and boiling water - I'm on it - thanks
troy
May 07, 2002
hey liz
what is the chance of getting a few befor you murder them :-)
troy - you wouldn't want them - I've already doused them about 3 times with round-up. They're REALLY awful looking - but they won't give up the ghost. When I think of all the time that I fretted over these guys at the beginning - I constantly worried about borers. I think they're made of steel.
Liz, I can completely sympathize! Our place had the ugliest bearded iris I have ever encountered in my life! The were sort of a brownish copperish purpleish nasty color. I could find nothing that would "blend" with them or grow with them. when they finished blooming, they just sat there ugly and brown and uncovered by other foliage, since they were so thick nothing else could grow there- no room for roots. So last year DH and I dug them up and tossed them out. We put them in a spot out in the field we call the compost "pile," since it isn't really compost, but has no bad stuff in it and we figure someday to plant something there. Well the buggers took root there, too! I gave away a bunch to friends (when they weren't in bloom, otherwise I don't think anyone would take them. No one has ever thanked me...) We had the whole field plowed this year and reseeded. I still find iris plants coming up here and there, and I expect they will be showing up out in the field sometime. When we dug them up, I couldn't do it, the mass was so heavy. It took all my DH's strength and he a strong guy. Lamb's ear is a similar problem here, but I have learned I have to just deal with it. I can't get rid of it without killing other things. So I pull, and I pull. We have a similar climate. Some places they have to pamper these things to get them growing. Are we just lucky??? HA!
Well - I guess there is luck and luck. Maybe the boiling water and vinegar will roast a few banana slugs in the process. I'm starting to feel better already.