Should I mulch my Irises? Help

I know they are finicky about their tubers being to deep. I don't want to fight the weeds next spring & will it help them servive the winter? Thanks,Jody

That depends on the type of irises you're asking about, your soil type, and your climate. As a general rule, bearded irises should not be mulched unless you are growing them in a very arid, hot climate in very well drained soil. In a typical Midwestern climate, there is too much humidity to safely mulch bearded irises during the growing season without risking a lot of rot. If you feel you must mulch your iris beds to inhibit weed growth, just make sure to keep the mulch pushed well away from the rhizomes. In IL, your winters aren't severe enough to necessitate winter mulching.

If you are growing beardless irises, they will benefit from a nice mulch to provide a cool root zone with consistent soil moisture.

Laurie

This is one of the reasons I reluctantly grow beardeds (but I still must do it). I weed more in that garden than any other (5-6 big weed extravaganzas a season). Also explains my love for beardless. They are nice to me and don't grow many weeds. I also always keep my beardeds together for this reason. One bad bed, rather than parts of all!

Thanks Laurie, I planted them this year and didn't get to see a bloom. I think I'll just leave them alone. Thanks,Jody

zone 9. I mulch to keep the weeds down but I don't cover the tubers. I have grown them right next to the lawn for years without a problem - it's November and the "Harvest of Memories" is still re-blooming, but we don't get any summer water other than irrigation.

Here in New England we have lots of water, so I wouldn't chance mulching.

By the way, people around here use pine boughs to cover the rhizomes for the winter and to keep ground heaving from being a problem. Here's a thread about companion planting that may help reduce weeds. I'm going to try this next year and see if it helps. I'll start with annuals.

http://davesgarden.com/forums/t/460888/

boojum, Thanks for all the great information. I'll see if I can get some left over christmas trees to mulch different things with. Thanks again, Jody