Irises: Shelter For The Winter, Diseases And Pests, Varieties

2024 Author: Sebastian Paterson | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 13:47

Read the previous part. ← Irises: soil preparation, dividing bushes and planting

Shelter of irises for the winter

Before watering, you can loosen the soil, this will help moisture to penetrate directly to the root system, and the air exchange of the soil will also improve.

The flowering period of irises, alas, is fleeting, like a flash. Summer passes, it is replaced by autumn, and then winter with its cold - it's time to cover the irises. Of course, you can do without this, the irises will overwinter, but if frosts fall on the ground not covered with snow, the root system, which is not very deep, may suffer. A layer of non-acidic peat or humus about 10 centimeters thick is ideal for sheltering irises. If there is no peat and humus, then ordinary dry leaves can be used.

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Overwintered irises usually start to grow quickly and look full of vigor. However, it also happens that growth retardation is observed, or the color of the foliage changes towards a lighter one. This may indicate that the soil lacks nutrients, and the plant is hungry. This often happens when irises grow in one place for a long time without dividing.

The introduction of mineral fertilizers will help to avoid an unpleasant situation. They can be applied several times per season, while the first feeding is usually carried out at the very beginning of plant growth. The irises, which begin their active growth, are fed by diluting urea (a tablespoon) and potassium sulfate in the same dose in a bucket of water, and the plants are watered with this solution, while spending five liters per square meter of soil.

The second feeding is usually carried out in the budding phase of the plants, using the same composition and dose. The third feeding can be done a couple of weeks after flowering. Here, in addition to potassium sulfate and urea, nitrophoska can be added to the solution in the same volume. The consumption rate of the solution for the third feeding is the same.

Remember that it is necessary to apply fertilizers under irises after rains or on wet soil, accompanying the fertilizing by loosening the soil. They must be completed by mid-July.

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Diseases and pests of irises

But a sickly type of plant does not always mean a lack of elements in the soil. Sometimes this is due to the appearance of pests or to the processes occurring in the plant as a result of the development of a disease. The most dangerous on irises is rhizome and leaf base rot.

Harmful to iris plants and rust. To get rid of rhizome rot, it is necessary to dig up the plants, cut out the affected rhizomes, and place the remaining, that is, healthy ones, in a solution of a disinfecting drug. But here potassium permanganate will not work, it is better to use copper oxychloride, known as Hom. Parts of plants must be kept in the preparation for half an hour. If the weather is hot outside, then you can simply leave the plants in the sun for 10-12 hours, periodically turning them over in order to warm them from all sides.

An equally dangerous disease of irises is heterosporosis, when small brown spots are formed on the outer leaves of affected plants, approximately in the second part of summer. Soon, they spread so much that the leaves turn brown.

It is more effective to fight this disease by cutting off all affected leaves. In the early stages of the development of the disease, treatment with copper sulfate also helps. It is necessary to dilute 100 g of this drug in a bucket of water.

In addition to diseases, pests periodically appear on irises. Among them, the most dangerous is the gladiolus thrips. It is better to fight it with the help of insecticides, one of the variants of which is the drug Confidor.

Iris varieties

Now let's talk about the varieties of bearded iris. This plant has a lot of them, but the most famous, which have received the widest distribution, are the following:

New Snow - the flowers of this variety are pure white in color with a slightly noticeable yellow beard. The flowers are quite large, very fragrant, late ripening.

May Hall. One-color variety with salmon pink, very fragrant medium to large flowers. The plant is medium-sized.

Winners Sackle. One-color iris of dark purple color with a white speck under a blue-blue beard. Blooms very profusely and annually.

Irish Dream. A one-color light lemon-yellow variety with a bright yellow beard, distinguished by a very delicate and very attractive coloration.

Merion made is a one-color light blue with a slightly purple tint and a yellow beard cultivar. The flowers are quite large. The variety is good both in the garden and in the bouquet.

Irina Guryeva

Junior Researcher, Berry Crops Department, VNIIS im. I. V. Michurin.