On 2/26/2016 3:41 PM, Terry Coombs wrote:
I'm new here , but have been posting at rec.gardens.edible for some time
now . Rather than pester those folks , I thought I'd ask here .
When is a good time to rake the leaves and stuff back off the Iris and
similar bulb plants ? We live in a clearing out in the woods , and they get
covered with leaves in the fall . Right now we have daffodils budding and
starting to bloom , but those will bloom thru snow . I'm looking for a
generalization , like after danger of hard freeze or something like that .
I'm just not sure how hardy these are , and this has been a really strange
winter (North central Arkansas , ~1500 ft elevation on the Ozark Plateau) .


I live in an area that is generally snow-free with only light frosts a
few nights during the winter (never lingering after sunrise). I keep
the leaves in my beds all year. In the winter, they protect tender
plants from frost damage. In the summer, they keep the soil cool and
moist. This latter is important since average daily high temperatures
July through September exceed 90F while the air is quite dry.

--
David E. Ross

While many tributes to the late Supreme Court Associate Justice
Antonin Scalia now fill the news media, his legacy was not
necessarily positive. See my "What Price Order, Mr. Justice Scalia?"
at http://www.rossde.com/editorials/edtl_scalia_wrong.html.