Since you’re a bulb guy, how do I prepare iris plants for fall? It seems my dad used to cut them back, but how far?
And yes, it is Darks’ fault!
It's like this...
My grandmother, who had herds of iris (or whatever the official term for a lot of 'em is) used to cut them leaving maybe 3 inches of stalkleafthings above ground. I on the other hand just leave them alone and clear off the dead/dried remains in the spring. I figure that if there's still some green left, it can still feed the bulb, and with the winters we get the bulbs (or, since we're talking iris, tubers..;-) need all they can get.
Last time we planted tulips here, Mrs. NoC went out the next day and found every single one dug up with only a brown husk remaining. It was then that she decided it was OK for me to kill off the resident rat-with-good-pr critters (a.k.a. chipmunks). We haven't tried planting any more of them for five or so years. Since our resident feline critters seem to have vastly decreased the size of the stripped rat population I got brave this year. We'll see how many I planted make an appearance next spring..