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Perennials Irises

Iris and groundcovers

7 years ago

I have tall bearded iris planted on a hillside that is covered with low yellow sedum. In another place the iris are planted with dianthus, lychnis and phlox subulata which quickly cover the base of the irises. Do I need to keep cutting back all of these groundcovers to expose the iris rhizomes to the sun? I had thought they would be good companions but now i'm not so sure...

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Comments (5)

peren.all Zone 5a Ontario Canada
7 years ago
last modified: 7 years ago
Yes bearded Iris need to have those rhizomes baking in the sun unfettered by other plants.
popmama (Colorado, USDA z5)
7 years ago
Same thing happened to me. I have one sedum that appears to be extremely happy to spread in part of my iris area. I've been pulling it out and putting it in pots to share with people who need ground cover.
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User
7 years ago
Great question!

Thanks, peren.
Faith
7 years ago
Well, my irises are crowded in with other plants, and they don’t seem to mind at all...at least so far! Here‘s a pic that shows the base of one of my iris plants:
mad_gallica (z5 Eastern NY)
7 years ago
Faith, you are cheating by living in a dry climate. In the east, you have to be very careful about how you treat bearded iris or they will rot.

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