drought in texas and iris are in full sun

i would just like advice re: whether to trim the foliage on the iris now or not. i don't know whether they need the foliage they have for food or if the extra foliage will put extra stress on the plants. the tops of the foliage is brown as they are clearly burning in full all day sun. but otherwise they really look o.k. thanks for your advice. barb

I don't think the foliage would burn from the sun, and I doubt that trimming it would help but I am just guessing here. I wonder if they would benefit from a bit of watering?

Are they Louisiana Iris? If so, just keep as wet as you can and MULCH.

they are reg. bearded iris and yes they would prob. like a drink but we are on water restrictions. so i didn't know if they needed the foliage for food or if it would help the plant to have less to feed.

In drought save dish water and bath water for iris ,
pour around roots , leave foilage on to die natural till sept .
then trim back
fertlize in oct .and again in late feb.

i have 500 iris out there so this isn't practical for me. i might get a shade cloth. does home depot sell these?

Rinse water from laundry is also good and save water when you turn on shower waiting for it to warm up. that can equal a gollon or 3
:)
A

I wouldn't cut the foliage off, they will absorb the nutrients from it I would guess.

sorry mamajack--I know nothing about beardeds...HD sells almost everything these days it seems.
DJ

I got my shadecloth at HD and it saved a lot of plants when I needed it. I got the beige kind.

You might want to try your regional forum for advice about irises in Texas.

thanks to everyone. if it is possible it is hotter today. i did get the sprinklers out there last night so we'll see. and i will check into home depot re: shade cloth. barb