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Can anyone identify the plant below?
I have them in three locations but all are a bit manky/insipid. I was wondering if I can do something to improve them or if I should just dig them out and bin them. I first need to know what they are to get the info on their likes and dislikes.
TIA.
Attachment 58787
I think they are Irises?
https://www.almanac.com/plant/irises
Yes, Annie is right. There are lots of kinds and sizes and colors of Iris...……….usually quite hardy. Looks like a good article from Annie.
Hmmmm... I didn't think of that. These, unlike the iris I have in the front garden, are totally nondescript. The colours really are as bland as in the photo and the flowers look half dead when they first come out.
I'll dig them up and try them somewhere else. Maybe being near the bird feeding station is not doing them any good (too much nitrogen rich bird poo in the area?).
Thanks for the input.
Yes, your irises do look sickly but I would suggest moving your bird feeder rather than the plants. Bird feeders should be moved periodically to prevent the build-up of dangerous pathogens, viruses and bacteria
Good topic.
Definitely, they are irises and their rhiozones are probably overgrown.
For me, the rule of thumb is to dig them up,
clean up the rhiozones by keeping "daughter" and "mother" at the most and get rid of grandmother and the other elders.
You want to keep the main "root" and that the energy doesn't drain into the "excess" root.
After clean up, you can plant them in the same place.
The last photo are some "ugly" irises that I found when I first move into my house, 40 years ago. They were under overgrown bushes and piles of ashes. I used them for background and after some years, the colors got a little stronger.
Rather late to this thread but will look-in more regularly.
This plant is Iris Foetidissima or Stinking Iris. It's one of two Iris species native to the British Isles. You won't improve it, the half dead colours are a defence mechanism, making the flowers difficult to spot and get eaten. In damp conditions they seed easily and spread like a weed. After the dull flowers you'll see big pods of bright orange / red berries that birds like to eat and they spread the seed everywhere.