Bulbs
Flower Basics
Flower Beds & Specialty Gardens
Flower Garden
Garden Furniture
Garden Gnomes
Garden Seeds
Garden Sheds
Garden Statues
Garden Tools & Supplies
Gardening Basics
Green & Organic
Groundcovers & Vines
Growing Annuals
Growing Basil
Growing Beans
Growing Berries
Growing Blueberries
Growing Cactus
Growing Corn
Growing Cotton
Growing Edibles
Growing Flowers
Growing Garlic
Growing Grapes
Growing Grass
Growing Herbs
Growing Jasmine
Growing Mint
Growing Mushrooms
Orchids
Growing Peanuts
Growing Perennials
Growing Plants
Growing Rosemary
Growing Roses
Growing Strawberries
Growing Sunflowers
Growing Thyme
Growing Tomatoes
Growing Tulips
Growing Vegetables
Herb Basics
Herb Garden
Indoor Growing
Landscaping Basics
Landscaping Patios
Landscaping Plants
Landscaping Shrubs
Landscaping Trees
Landscaping Walks & Pathways
Lawn Basics
Lawn Maintenance
Lawn Mowers
Lawn Ornaments
Lawn Planting
Lawn Tools
Outdoor Growing
Overall Landscape Planning
Pests, Weeds & Problems
Plant Basics
Rock Garden
Rose Garden
Shrubs
Soil
Specialty Gardens
Trees
Vegetable Garden
Yard Maintenance
What Animals Eat Iris Plants?
What Animals Eat Iris Plants?. Iris plants are a group of 260 species of particularly colorful and beautiful flower. Widely grown in gardens, they make an excellent addition due to their attractive nature and annual bloom from the same rhizome. They are an easy plant to grow as they need little attention. Unfortunately irises are food for certain...
Iris plants are a group of 260 species of particularly colorful and beautiful flower. Widely grown in gardens, they make an excellent addition due to their attractive nature and annual bloom from the same rhizome. They are an easy plant to grow as they need little attention. Unfortunately irises are food for certain creatures, which damage or even kill the plant.
Rabbits
Rabbits are a common pest for gardeners in more rural areas. They feed off most plants and can spend many hours each day just eating. Damage to garden plants such as the iris can be extensive if rabbits are allowed to continue feeding, even in small numbers. As the bulblike rhizome is usually the favored part of the iris to eat, the plant can be wiped out entirely.
Moles
Moles are an unlikely foe when it comes to the health of irises. Although moles mainly feed on worms and other insects, they sometimes feed off the bulbs of certain plants, including the fleshy rhizome of the iris. The air space created by the burrows can also cause the stunting and non-bloom of the iris rhizome.
Voles
Voles are small blackish or grayish brown rodents, approximately 5 to 8 inches long. They live in burrows underground but travel above ground along specific runways. To make these tracks they consume all foliage in their path, and are known to eat flowers and plants such as the iris.
Insects
Crickets, aphids, moths and moth larvae known as the iris borer are all predators of the iris plant. Although small creatures, they will consume large quantities of the flower foliage if left unchallenged. These insects can be controlled using commercial or homemade insecticides.
