Frühlingsputz bei den Iris-Schwertlilien
Verfasst: Fr 3. Apr 2015, 18:28
Spring is here!
Nature heralds the arrival of a new season with gifts of color from crocus, daffodils and tulips. Now is the time to take advantage of the warming temperatures and reactivate those gardening tools that have been hibernating for the last 4-5 months.
Iris are a winter hardy plant that don't need a lot of special care, but if you've mulched your beds because of extremely harsh winter temperatures, it's a good idea to start removing the straw or pine boughs you used. Clean away all the dead winter foliage and loosen the soil around the plants to break up the winter compaction. Not only will you bring fresh air to the roots down below, you are disrupting new weed growth. Keeping your ground black and fluffy will help deter slugs and snails from moving in. No shady hiding place - no feast on new plant growth.
Fertilizing now is also a good idea to give your iris a good start after the winter. They need a bit of food to develop their beautiful flowers - just like you and me. Try to find a balanced NPK (Stickstoff-Phosphor-Kalium) ferltilizer with a slow-release of Nitrogen. Rule of thumb put very simply: N is for pretty green leaves; P is for pretty flowers; K is for the general health of your plant. Make sure to mix your fertilizer into your soil. Leaving it on the surface will take too long before the minerals dissolve into the ground. Iris feed from their roots so the closer contact will benefit your plants more.
Nature heralds the arrival of a new season with gifts of color from crocus, daffodils and tulips. Now is the time to take advantage of the warming temperatures and reactivate those gardening tools that have been hibernating for the last 4-5 months.
Iris are a winter hardy plant that don't need a lot of special care, but if you've mulched your beds because of extremely harsh winter temperatures, it's a good idea to start removing the straw or pine boughs you used. Clean away all the dead winter foliage and loosen the soil around the plants to break up the winter compaction. Not only will you bring fresh air to the roots down below, you are disrupting new weed growth. Keeping your ground black and fluffy will help deter slugs and snails from moving in. No shady hiding place - no feast on new plant growth.
Fertilizing now is also a good idea to give your iris a good start after the winter. They need a bit of food to develop their beautiful flowers - just like you and me. Try to find a balanced NPK (Stickstoff-Phosphor-Kalium) ferltilizer with a slow-release of Nitrogen. Rule of thumb put very simply: N is for pretty green leaves; P is for pretty flowers; K is for the general health of your plant. Make sure to mix your fertilizer into your soil. Leaving it on the surface will take too long before the minerals dissolve into the ground. Iris feed from their roots so the closer contact will benefit your plants more.
