How to Prune Iris Plants
Irises have been called the poor man's orchid. They send up their purple to white frilly blossoms before the onslaught of the summer flowers and after the flush of spring blooms. Keeping your iris patch in good shape is important for the health of the plant to stay looking good and blooming consistently. Does this Spark an idea?
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Instructions
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Lift your iris plant out of the ground in July while there are still several weeks of growing time for the plant to recuperate. All the blooming will be will be finished and you can get a good idea of what is going on underground. Use your shovel to get under the iris plant and lift it up.
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Separate the mass of roots so that each fan of leaves has its own root section. You might have to use a serrated knife or even an axe to get through really large masses. Try not to damage the leaves too much.
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Trim off the leaves so that they are about 6 inches long. Remove any of the old blossom stems by cutting them back to the crown of the plant. Of course, any dead or diseased leaves should be cut off also back to the crown.
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Clean up the roots. Trim the rhizomes connected to each of the leaf fans so that they have two or three eyes per plant. Throw out any soft or shriveled rhizomes. Set the plants aside to dry the cuts before replanting.
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Replant your cleaned up and pruned iris plants into freshly turned soil with a healthy addition of compost. You should only have to prune the iris plant this heavily every three years.
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Tips & Warnings
Clean your tools after working with diseased plants before working on healthy plants
