The Times - Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley

Several people have asked me about how I prepare my collection of 160 varieties of tall bearded iris for winter. Here is what I do: NOTHING! Iris are quite frost-hardy, so they do not need to be mulched. In fact, mulch is hard to remove, will retain too much moisture in the spring, and you will risk the new growth and root rotting.

I wait until early spring to remove the previous season's leaves, for several reasons. This has been my procedure for about 15 years, and it really seems to work in the relatively mild winter weather we have here in the Walla Walla Valley, and in the Puget Sou...