What a difference a month makes!! I've been able to avoid further muskrat invasions and the Yellow Iris are making a comeback-- rewarding us with blooms. The plants now stand 3ft+ tall and look MUCH better than last year after the 'rats were aggressively cutting the canes. I can't get a good photo of the root system, but it's a combination of tuber and a fibrous mass. The blooms don't last long-- maybe two or three days. The blooming is somewhat staggered, so the blooming lasts about 10 days total, in our location. Hopefully some of those following this thread will find the YI interesting and a possibility for their pond. To control spread, I would cut the seed pods off where the bloom heads formed. Maybe in late July or August. Just make sure it's done before the pods open and drop their seed payload in the Fall.
You may see my air compressor housing in one of the photos. I've switched to a "summer" aeration system that is a single diffuser in about 8.5 feet of water depth. Next step to optimize the system is to plug the timer for nighttime operation into the AC circuit for the pump. I may do that this evening.
