iris borer

[mrtoad]

new to iris - a question or three about the dreaded iris borer

what time of year do they appear and what do they look like

do they eat the flag from the inside and move toward the rhizome - and when will the little guy be big enough for me to see

help - a quick lesson, please

mr toad

[Garden_of_Mu]

Borers should not be much of a problem if you do a good clean-up of all foliage in the fall after frosts have killed it back and again in spring before temperatures hit 70 degrees. They look like meal worms and eat into the fan and then down to the rhizome. Here's more info from an AIS affiliate site:

http://www.irisgarden.org/borermain.html

I am so glad we do not have to deal with this pest out here.

[kHT]

Interesting information Mike, thank you for the information. I have passed this along to DH whom thinks I'm nuts picking up all
the leaves that blow into the yard. Interesting about the burning in the spring. I'm having trouble with slugs this year.

[Garden_of_Mu]

Karma - No worries. The borer and it's moth cannot survive on this side of the Rockies. If they could have they would have overrun the west coast iris fields decades ago. We're safe from this pest. Good idea anyway tho as it helps minimize leafspotting.

[kHT]

Thank Mike!! Garden tours are well under way and one group of ladies that come are amazed at the iris this
year, you can almost watch them grow!! I get so many questions on them and folks can't believe I don't cover
them with leaves? See education is being shared!! Thank you again.