newbie question

[GH]

Does anyone know if potted irises loose their foliage in the winter? I treated mines for iris borer and some are loosing their leaves. Thank you!

[Starlord]

Yes Iris will lose their old fans in winter, even inside. My 200+ iris are just now starting to grow new fans.

[Vox Humana]

Where are you and why are the in pots?

[V_coerulea]

This is not necessarily true. My outdoor iris loose their old fans when they're 1-3 years old depending on the harshness of the winter. Right now some have new fans 6" tall while others are only a few inches and all still have last years fans. I have seedlings in a cool greenhouse. And while they ocassionally lose a leaf here and there, the fan never goes dormant. We're not tropical here in SC. We've had nights into the mid 20's this year with some days barely topping 50. But this is the weather iris grow best in here.. They'll quit once the 80's & 90's settle in in May. Gary

[Vox Humana]

Twenty degrees is tropical compared to SW Ohio where we have temperature as low as 15 below for at least a few days each winter. Since it was warm today (55F) I checked out all my irises. They have all lost the old growth. Most have new fans ranging from 1/2 to about three inches. That seems typical here. I have never heard of anyone growing Irises in pots indoors. That just doesn't seem right to me. Makes me think our old friend Byrdi (sp?) is posting under a new name.

[Starlord]

I live in the High Mojave Desert and all of my iris start losing their older fans when the night temps drop from 55F down to the low 20f at night. Right now I've been removing the old fans to let the new ones that are coming up get the sunlight they need.

[Vox Humana]

That sounds about right. They always look good until the mid fall, when they finally give up. New fans start to grow almost immediately.