When should you clean up all the dead leaves around the torch lily? I am anxious to clean this up. I walk by it to get to my mailbox and it doesn't look so hot. Oops-sorry for the pun!
Torch Lily Clean up
I cut mine back in spring. It doesnt seem to hurt the plant. Its sooooo tough That I can only cut out the dead tips about 1/3 re back ,but anything is better than the whole dead plant to look at.
I even cut beck parts of it in growing season as I have planted a perennial too close.Its a new plant I want to develope its leggs and feet before I try to transplant.
Torches are so pretty when they bloom, and impossible to divide when they are as old as mine are (20 years)
Mine are probably 12 years old. I use a "sharp shooter" spade. That's what my dad called it. It may not be the correct name. Oh, and my husband did it for me. :) That does make a difference!
I use hedge shears to trim. I have clay soil so the roots are really dug in.
Its a real chore to dig them out no matter where they are planted, like Siberian Iris,matts of tight roots.
I too have very clay soil. Yes, I have S. Iris also. They are the worst to dig out. I have them going parallel by my drive way. The drive way is on a slope and they hold the soil---boy DO they hold the soil. My two grown kids have dug half of them out twice now. They like to spread even by seed. I put the extras in our back "forest" . It slopes sharply in my back yard. I put the S. Iris there to control erosion. I have been tempted to just take all of the S. Iris out by the driveway. There's enough vegetation now to keep the soil from eroding. I use the shrap shooter shovel to "chop" out the S. Iris also.
What shape is your sharp shooter shovel?
This is what mine looks like. It's probably called other names as well.
http://www.forestry-suppliers.com/product_pages/View_Catalog_Page.asp?mi=1605
Yes thats the same as my perennial transplant shovel except my handle is longer.
That's the shovel I use and it seems to work pretty good. You have to put all of your weight on it, however. I think keeping it real sharp helps too.l
Thanks for comming back I lost the thread where we were talking about spades.
I didnt want to go with out a picture of the one I ordered from LeeVally.
I found the page and it is not a perennial space but.
This New castle drain spade.:http://www.leevalley.com/garden/page.aspx?c=2&p=51892&cat=2,64944&ap=1
I have problems with balance and need a longer handel plus something to hold onto while I hike my foot to the edge to shove it further into tha soil after I have plunged it in as deep as I can holding on with both hands.
Wow! That's some spade. It looks like it would really work well.
I hope it's not too heavy.
I really plan on it for planting lily bulbs.
Let me know.
you bet