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is my iris diseased?

berardeberarde Posts: 147
in Problem solving
This flowered very well three years after planting, but I now see that the leaves are browning. Is it just part of its life cycle or is it disease? It is the rhizomatous type

Posts

  • B3B3 Posts: 27,505
    That's what they do. Pull them out or cut them off
    In London. Keen but lazy.
  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117
    It's just dead foliage.  :)
    It's probably at the point of needing divided. They need done every few years to keep them productive. The central part becomes defunct, and it's the outer 'ring' which is the part that you keep. You'd probably get three or four decent plants from that now.
    Much as I love them, I've largely given up on them - too much work, and too difficult to find a good spot for them to get well enough baked in summer. 
    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've some lovely ones and find it quite satisfying to pull off the dead leaves as they peel off the rhizome once they are ready. I wouldn't cut them off as the bits left behind would rot when wet. I sometimes cut the top bits off the leaves if they are very big, then pull the rest off as it dies back. It is correct that they need baking in the summer and keeping in the sun during winter (if in a pot which I don't recommend) if you want them to flower. I'm planning to divide mine this weekend as they have been growing for 3 years.
  • Pete.8Pete.8 Posts: 11,340
    I agree with fg - they look like tall bearded iris and if they are they are in need of dividing.
    I done mine a couple of weeks ago.
    The tatty leaves are often from the old exhausted rhizomes.
    If you leave them you may get no flowers at all - I didn't' get a single flower from a big patch this year that I hadn't divided for 4 years (thanks to concrete summer soil the last few years)
    A Monty video from this site how to divide them-
    https://www.gardenersworld.com/how-to/grow-plants/how-to-divide-congested-bearded-irises/



    Billericay - Essex

    Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit.
    Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.
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