Calhoun County, AL – We celebrate the iris easily for its colorful blooms! However! The iris provides a quick, economical greenery answer to your landscape project. The iris leaves are sword like, sturdy, vertical eye appeal. When you install a new border or large mass of space the iris greenery can be useful in creating filler for the project. Many Farmers, neighbors need help every 3-4 years dividing iris rhizomes. If left unattended the crowding inhibits the nutrition that is required for blooms. It is a nice goal to offer your assistance to divide in return for sharing in the surplus. The biggest advantage to dividing farm land iris is heirloom sharing several generations of rhizomes. I use iris in pots, in ground, raised beds, creating borders. I have used the excessive sword greenery in pots as a back ground to a corner nook in the garden. If the shade area does not provide enough sun the leaves will still grow, staying green, erect. Shade prohibits blooms, but the greenery is still useful in landscape design. Iris is a mainstay in country cottage gardening designs. The spring season releases the treasures of iris blooms. The rest of the year you can enjoy the lovely greenery. I wait until the stalk that produces the iris dies back slightly before pruning it. Those nutrients in the stalk are important to next years rhizomes.
Betty Clark is a contributing writer. She has been an organic gardener since 1998. The signature flower she grows is Dahlias. She has a straw bale garden, a raised bed garden, and an in-ground garden. Both her surnames are from agricultural farming families (8 generations). Her hobbies include ancestry research, antiques, continued education classes, and workshops. She also has a background in marketing & promotions, including expos. To contact Betty Clark with gardening questions: [email protected]
