I forgot to post this picture I snapped earlier this week. The plants seemed as excited as I did about the bout of warm weather. Too bad it snowed all day and another 8 inches are predicted to arrive by morning.
Category Archives: winter
Bearded Iris
My favorite color, next to black, is purple. This must be why I find the irises on this lot absolutely beautiful. When we purchased the house, the irises in the front needed to be thinned. Some of the friends who helped us to move in are seasoned gardeners. They spotted the crowded plants in the front bed and relocated some to the backyard. The relocated irises did not bloom that summer, but OH BOY did the front ones bloom. I told my better half I suspected the flowers of feasting on neighborhood children.
Continuing with my research on spring cleanup, I found the irises should have been trimmed back in the Fall. Whoops. Throughout summer, spent flower stalks should be trimmed back to the plants base. Seed pods should be immediately snipped off. It allows energy to be spent more efficiently, focusing effort on the healthy parts of the plant. Then when the first killing frost arrives, the sword-like leaves can be trimmed back until they are 4-6 inches long. This prevents pests and disease from wintering over. Most iris foliage are trimmed in a fan-like shape. I read this technique is not necessarily only for decorative reasons. The leaves at the center of the plant are often raised higher out of the ground. Buzzing leaves straight across risks trimming them to close.
So, what am I to do this spring? After Googling various arrangements of “iris,” “prune,” and “spring,” and browsing through quite a few sites reminding me I should have pruned my irises in the fall, I finally found this advice at (wait for it) www.perennials.com.
Bearded Iris of all types tend to carry some green leaves through the winter. Carefully pull off any dead leaves in spring and dispose of them, since they can harbour the dreaded Iris borer.
Great. Not only did I forget to trim back my poor irises, but I indirectly created a safe haven for their mortal enemy… possibly even their “nemesis.” When the snow disappears, I’ll remove and trash any of the brown leaves, asking for forgiveness as I do so. I hope the irises will forgive me and again grace our lot with those beautiful blooms.
Sedum
While I’m awaiting spring to arrive, I thought I’d start doing some homework on garden cleanup. I purchased a great book last year, Month by Month Gardening in Michigan. This weekend will allow me more time to browse through it, but I do know it doesn’t go into detail beyond basic plant categories. Therefore, I’m going to look up some individual plants to see how I should be catering to them in a month or so.
Sedum
I remember this as being the only type of succulent we have on our lot. Out of all the different types of sedum, I believe our plants are Autumn Joy. There are several around, but the largest by far grows in the back alley bed. This guy grew enormous last year with beautiful color arriving in late summer or early fall. I read Sedum prefer well drained soil, so this full sun bed more than likely kept the moisture level down and the plant happy.
As far as spring cleanup, most sites recommend using pruners to trim old stems and flowers back to the ground. Be careful not to prune the new growth. Mulch around the plant, but avoid placing mulch right up to the stems or else rot may occur. Since Sedum likes well drained soil, rocks are suggested as a mulch option for this type of plant.
Let’s return to the enormous, beautiful Sedum from last year. By early fall, a hard rain would soak the flower heads and cause the plant stems to droop. The thin stems grew so long they couldn’t support the water weight. The Yardener site suggests trimming stems by about 1/3rd in early summer (late May or early June) before the flowers form to avoid this problem in the fall. I’m definitely going to give the technique a try.
I was wondering last year if the monster in the alley bed would have to be divided this spring. It seems sedum tell you they need to be divided when the center of the plant no longer has stems growing from it. I’ll keep an eye on the plants this spring and will address the “how to” when/if necessary.