My puppy ran through my boyfriend's Iris Garden and now all the leaves on the plants are no longer standing up, but stomped down. They are still connected to the base of the plant, though. I have put a fence around them so my puppy will no longer run thru them. However, I am wondering if the Iris plants will stand tall, again?
2007-07-25 20:30:00 · 3 answers · asked by Monic 2 in Home & Garden ➔ Garden & Landscape
Janey,
It is unlikely the Iris plant leaves will stand up again. The fibers have been broken where the puppy stepped on them. Next year they will come back up just fine. Water and feed them just as usual, no trimming will be needed. In fact, the practice of trimming the leaves when transplanting Iris (every 3 to 5 years) has been called into question recently. I have only transplanted mine every 5 years, and haven't trimmed them at all. The result has been my Iris blooms grew larger and spread farther each year. For the expensive bulbs, that made me very happy. Is puppy's new name "Mud?" By the way, if you put in a fence that is less than 4 feet tall, Mud and others will be able to easily jump the fence.
2007-07-25 22:17:22 · answer #1 · answered by Jeanne B 7 · 0⤊ 1⤋
These plants won't "stand tall" again this season. Don't despair, they won't die. This winter the stomped-down foilage will die as usual and next spring you'll have new tall foilage.
Irises are tough, hardy, and resilient. And beautiful. My irises are over 60 years old; they belonged to my great-grandmother. They've been stomped down, moved to three different towns, accidentally mowed over, and flooded out of their beds. They'll probably outlast me.
2007-07-26 01:59:09 · answer #2 · answered by july 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
They should no problem, MAYBE not this year but surely by next spring. Irises are pretty darn tough plants. I completely cut my back each fall to the ground, and leave them in the graound and they ALWAYS pop right back up!!
2007-07-25 20:44:38 · answer #3 · answered by Maggie B 5 · 3⤊ 0⤋