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Dead heading iris

Guernsey Donkey2Guernsey Donkey2 Posts: 6,713
in Plants
I know how to dead head most flowers, but flag iris seem a little bulky.  How far down the stem of the spent flower do I nip or cut or how do I solve the problem of the messy dead flowers?

Posts

  • JellyfireJellyfire Posts: 1,139
    I usually break each spent flower off, they have a weak point just before they meet the stem where they snap off with a clean break. Then when they are all done I cut off the rest of the stalk. No idea if thats the correct way, but seems to work ok for me 
  • Guernsey Donkey2Guernsey Donkey2 Posts: 6,713
    Thanks Jellyfire, I shall give your method a try when I go out after tea.
  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117
    I do the same as Jellyfire. They snap quite readily. You just have to be careful not to snap any buds nearby. 
    Not that I speak from experience, you understand.... ;)
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
  • Joy*Joy* Posts: 571
    I try to remove the seed pod as well as the dead flowers being careful not to disturb any new buds. When all the flowers are over I make sure that all the seed pods have been removed. The long stalks are a bit unsightly but I do let them die back a bit before removing them so that the goodness feeds the rhizome. I've kept a record of dead flowers removed from Art Deco this  year. She still has more flowers to open but the tally so far is 44. This is only the second season since she was a single rhizome and I have been amazed at the number of flowers since she hasn't had any fertiliser, just an occasional watering. 
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