Irises are perennials. They need careful care, which is required not only before flowering, but also after it. If all actions are performed correctly, then gardeners will be able to avoid unpleasant consequences in the form of small inflorescences in the spring and summer. Proper care is also the prevention of diseases and parasites. This article will discuss the basic procedures for caring for these flowers and how to implement them.

Is iris care necessary after flowering

If you want to enjoy the beautiful and plentiful flowering of irises in the spring-summer period, then you need to properly care for them.

Did you know? In the constellation Cepheus there is a nebula called "Iris". It is associated with similarity with these flowers.

The main stages of care are as follows:

• pruning - it can be carried out at the time of flowering, as well as after the end of the period;
• fertilizing bushes - it is necessary to make plants more lush and protected from diseases;
• high-quality watering - try to do this so that water does not fall on the leaves of the bushes, otherwise they can freeze, which will negatively affect the development of the whole plant;
• protection against diseases and pests;
• loosening the soil;
• warming for the winter;
• mulching beds.

Basic care rules

The main rules of care are usually related to irrigation of the soil, pruning and irrigation. It is also necessary to carefully and qualitatively loosen the top layer of the soil and remove weeds. To preserve the beauty and saturation of the flowering of irises, you need to treat the bushes from parasites and diseases.

If it is incorrect to prepare the plants for winter, then this can result in the death of the site. Try to assist in the development of flowers in a timely manner. Keep track of their condition, because it is able to indicate exactly what the iris needs.

Watering and feeding

If you grow irises in open beds or in greenhouses, then they need high-quality nutrition. Try to use nitrogen-phosphorus fertilizers that will help saturate the soil and root system with useful elements. The components must be mixed in a 1: 1 ratio. Under each bush, it is recommended to make no more than 15 g of the substance.If you exceed this norm, you can burn the plant. The first time you need to fertilize plants a few weeks after flowering. These dates are in late autumn (late October - early November). If necessary, you can increase the fertilizer spacing up to 1 month. The main thing is to do the procedure 2–2.5 weeks before the first frost.

Important! Organic fertilizers (manure or humus) cannot be used to feed irises. This can lead to disease and parasite damage.

In autumn, irises do not need much water, so watering is recommended to be minimized. It is enough to pour 3 liters of water under each bush, not more than 1 time per month. If you do not follow this recommendation, then you can increase the likelihood of rotting the root system. If autumn is expected to be rainy or there is a large amount of rainfall, then the gardener does not have to water iris bushes at all.

Cultivation of the earth

Loosening the soil should be shallow: 3-5 cm. Do not forget also about harvesting weeds, which not only slow down the development of the bush, but also provoke the development of diseases. Do not use garden tools during operation. It is better to loosen the soil with the help of hands. This is due to the fact that the roots of the plant are located close to the surface of the earth.If you use garden tools, you risk damaging the root system and ruining the entire bush. Loosening is carried out a few days before fertilizing and water. At this point, the soil should be fairly dry.

Pruning

Cut the buds as they dry. It is recommended to inspect plants every 2 weeks and remove flowers that have time to bloom. Such manipulations contribute to better flowering and protect against self-seeding.

Important! The need to remove the stem is that it can rot. If you do not want to throw away the stems, then you can use it as compost for fertilizer.

Trimming consists of the following actions:

1. Take sharp scissors or pruner. Garden tools must be disinfected with alcohol in advance so as not to bring bacteria into the plants.
2. Cut the bud completely. It is important to remove it so that the green receptacle is cut off. Seeds ripen in it, which after some time can be independently distributed throughout the site.

Final pruning is recommended in late summer or early fall. After that, no new buds will be formed. During this period, it is necessary to prune the stems on which the flowers were. Shorten them so that they are close to the rhizome (not more than 4 cm). Given that the stalk of irises is dense and fleshy, the procedure is carried out using a sharp knife or pruner.When you remove the buds and stems, do not touch the leaves until they turn yellow. Usually you need to remove them only in mid-October. Leaves are cut at a distance of 15 cm from the soil surface, creating a conical shape. Partial leaf removal promotes the accumulation and transfer of energy to the root system. This significantly improves the quality of wintering plants.

Disease prevention

The diseases that affect irises include:

1. Bacterial rot. The disease manifests itself in the fact that first the leaves of the bush begin to rot and emit an unpleasant smell. After some time, the virus is distributed over the roots, which leads to the death of the entire plant. The treatment of the disease consists in spraying with a solution of Doxycycline (30 mg per 5 liters of water), and prevention - in the treatment with Linkomycin (50 g per 10 liters of water).
2. Dry rot, or Fusarium. The disease manifests itself in the form of gray-brown spots on the surface of the root system. Over time, the roots dry out. You can treat the bushes by spraying them with Formalin solution (30 g per 5 l of water). Prevention is that you need to prepare a solution of “Fundazole” (20 g per 10 liters of water) and treat them with plants.
3. Gray rot. Symptoms of the disease include slow growth of the bush and mold on the roots. You need to treat the plants by spraying them with a Topaz solution (50 g per 10 liters of water), and for the prevention of the disease, use Oksikhom (10 g per 10 liters of water).

Winter preparations

If you grow frost-resistant varieties of irises (Japanese and Siberian), then you do not need to shelter them for the winter. It will be enough to warm the basal part. Such varieties can tolerate frosts to -30 ° C. It is necessary to completely warm the iris bushes if they have not yet hibernated and were planted only this year.. All other irises need preparation for the winter. They need to be covered with mulch. The procedure is carried out in winter, in early December. The mulch layer should be 15–20 cm.

Did you know? On about. Crete was found a mural that depicted a priest surrounded by irises. Age of this drawing — more than 4 thousand years.

As the main materials use:

• peat;
• dry fallen leaves of trees;
• sawdust.

Try to choose the right time for mulching the soil. If you do this too early in the fall, then the root system can block. In the spring, in mid-March, rake a layer of mulch around the plant. This will avoid stagnation of moisture and rotting of the root system.

Video: preparing irises for winter

Transplant and division

In order for irises to preserve the beauty and density of flowering, they must be properly transplanted. It is best to carry out this procedure 14–20 days after the flowers dry out (in late August or early September). If you do not adhere to the deadlines, then next year the plants will not bloom. Autumn transplantation should begin only after the division of the roots.

You can do this as follows:

1. Use the pitchfork to dig out the roots of the iris.
2. Brush off the root system from an earthen coma.
3. Divide into parts. They are called dividends. The diameter of the dividend should be no more than 3 cm, and the length should be about 10 cm.

Each element should have a long (10 cm) root system. The selected sections must be disinfected (1 tsp. Manganese per 10 l of water). They need to be soaked for at least 2 hours, and then dried in the sun. Planting should be carried out in sunny areas of the garden. The distance between the bushes should be 30 cm. In a hole with a depth of about 20 cm, a small hill is made of soil.

It is necessary to place a dividend in it, level its roots, cover it with earth and pour 5 l of water into each new bush. In winter, it will be necessary to mulch the root part. So, now you know how to properly care for irises after they bloom. It is important to carry out all procedures on time and monitor the cleanliness of the tools used. If all the actions are carried out correctly, then in spring and summer you can see beautiful and thick buds that attract attention.