Thinning out iris

by Mary
(Salem, OR)

I recently moved into a new place. Surrounding the entire house are bearded Iris's. Althought they can be pretty, I find them overwhelming. These iris's were planted 40 years ago. I want to thin them out and also get rid of them in some flowerbeds. Is there any way other than having to get down on my knees and dig them all out?

Doug says get a long handled shovel and dig them out. No idea why you'd want to get down and dirty to do this chore.

If you're asking is there a spray of some kind that will kill off iris? The answer is there is no organic spray that will selectively kill some iris and not others. (nor chemical one for that matter). An organic herbicide spray (acetic acid) will kill off iris with repeated sprayings) but it burns what it touches.

The other option is to hire somebody to do the job if you're not able to do it.