Iris Leaf Care: Trim Only the Brown, Not the Green

Those evergreen iris leaves with browned edges in your pine bed? Resist the urge to shear them back. Green foliage—even with brown tips—still photosynthesizes and feeds the rhizomes. Removing it only weakens next season's bloom potential.

Proper Grooming Technique

Instead, use scissors to snip away just the browned portions of each leaf. For the best flowers, apply slow-release fertilizer (such as Milorganite, Osmocote, or Dynamite) in April and again in mid-summer.