cutting iris leaves

When and how much can I cut leaves back on my Iris plants?. I have over 500 and I'd like to cut them back so as to interplant annuals for color.

I always cut back the spent flower stalks but never the leaves. They add texture and interest with their sword-like foliage. Annuals would look great planted with the iris foliage as a backdrop. Do the leaves still look good or are they yellow/brown?

Leaves still very green and strong. My problem is that beds are completely full of Iris and no room left for annuals. Guess I planted too many when I redid my beds last Oct. Should have used Iris for backdrop and left some room in front for annuals. I hate to get rid of any plant sooooo.. Thanks

I would think you would need to keep the leaves if you want blooms next year. That's how the plants take in sunlight and store up enough energy in the roots/bulbs to bloom next year. You could try it with a smaller section this year and see what happens with the irises next year. Or maybe plant some annuals in raised pots nestled in with the iris foliage.

I'm sure I read that leaves should be left alone for six weeks to strengthen the iris and create more offsets. They can be cut back, lifted and moved after six weeks. So if you can pot up the annuals and wait the six weeks, then move enough irises to plant your annuals at that time.

Thanks Good ideas. Think I will wait 8 weeks, then lift some Iris and move thus freeing up space for annuals.

You don't say what kind of Iris you have, there are some that grow from tubers, some risons and some even from bulbs.
If they are bulbs (like the same shape as small onion etc, then 8 weeks later you can cut the foliage, if tubers (like Dahlias, you can lift them and cut half the leaves off, either store the tubers in boxes of compost and leave outside to replant in autumn, Risons are the same as tubers, Iris tubers like to have there tubers JUST under the soil and baked in the sun, every 3 / 4 years you need to lift, divide and throw away the hard NON flowering bit in the center, all the new growth grows for the outer edge of the tuber and the middle is tired out and don't flower, when you plant the new bits of tuber, make sure you bury the roots and very shallow plant the top bit of tuber in sun.
Good luck. WeeNel.

See, this is pretty much what I asked in one of my posts, but for some reason no one responded to it.....I have a bunch of little Iris Reticulatas that are past blooming and now I just have a garden of really tall spike-shaped leaves- it was becomming really messy, so I asked if there was anything I could do to neaten up the appearance for planting some Annuals in between....didn't really get an answer and finally this week I couldn't take it any more and I didn't cut them or anything like that, but I pretty much folded the spikes in half and then wrapped them around themselves so they are shorter now and neater.....Would still love to know if this will ruin the for next year, although it's too late now.....

The leaves are supposed to be exposed to the sunlight - that's the problem when they get too big and we're left with a "really messy" situation such as you described it. It's the same issue with daffodil leaves and braiding bunches of them supposedly denies sunlight to them that would affect the bloom for the following year.

You could rig up a section of this ugly green fencing and make it into a circle to keep the foliage intact. True, it's not beautiful! I have no choice but to do it for my Sweet 100 tomatoes or the deer would eat them all.