Dear All; Iris... where to even start. Here in the mid-west the Pacific Coast natives and hybrids are a total wash. A lot of work and then pitiful. I'll keep to the bulbous iris for the time being and this is their time. Iris reticulata here are something of a challenge to get them going well, but we have worked at it for a few years and find them easy, vigorous , bloom like crazy and multiply like mad - with lots of reservations. Some do, some don't. I won't name names, but a few years ago I corresponded with a few growers about the mis-named reticulatas making the rounds. One grower assured me his were correct and true. I order 200 each of 10 named cvs and divided these collections of 10 x 10 each with a number of people around here. Even overseas mail made them reasonable. Some were/are still mis-named, some are excellent and others a total waste. We planted about 500 in the lawn and don't mow until their foliage goes down. We got seed and repeat bloom, but these petered out after a few years. I think from a combination of our extreme heat, drought and competition. A few hundred others planted on a ridge and given morning shade have proven better. Some groups of ten are now dozens and maybe hundreds. A few have totally gone and others linger. It seems obvious that not all reticulatas are equal. Instead of telling you what works here, I think you have to try a lot on a variety of places and find the ones that do best for you. Incidentally none show a trace of virus. Right now Iris hyrcana (perhaps a form of reticulata) is about to open its single sky blue flower in a rasied bed. Iris danfordiae is an annual. Smply doesn't last long. Dutch iris are also worthless here and I have had mixed results with English (speaking of virus!). My bulbous iris stars are the Junos. I grow them in a raised bed and they are great. Iris magnifica (various forms), I wilmottiana alba and I grabereana all do great. One bulb of I wilmottiana alba produced 18 bulbs in 3 years in the this bed. I dug them all out and now a half dozen are still coming up where I must have left a few scraps. Iris aucheri isn't quite as vigorous and a few other hardy enough are doing fine. I bucharica is easy even in the open garden as long as doesn't sit anywhere wet. [Incidentally Regelia, Pseudoregelia. Oncocyclus and Aril bred hybrids do great in this same raised bed. The arillate iris are all very intriguing colors and forms. Worth the bit of extra work.] The only Juno to frustrate me is I cycloglossa one of my favorites. I used to grow it in my previous garden, but haven't found a spot in the current garden yet where it is happy. It is a beauty. I know it needs more moisture, but that is always hard to guarantee here. A nearly bulbous iris is the peculiar Iris anguifuga. This Chinese species has quite a story. It is known as the 'Snake Bane' Iris because of the Chinese belief that it can repel snakes from the garden. Here's the logic: The foliage appears in late summer to early fall and as it starts to grow 'chases snakes away (into hibernation)'. Foliage remains green all winter at about 2 inches in height (even here and even well below 0F). As the weather warm, the foliage extends to a foot and the flower appears like a puny purple spuria (incidentally it is the only iris with a single bract below the flower). As the flower withers and foliage dies, the plant 'looses strength which allows the snakes to return to the garden' (come out of hibernation) and dominate the garden all summer. However, do not fear. If a snake were to bite, simply rub the rhizome on the snake bite and the poison will be neutralized (NOT!). Or grind the rhizome for a poultice applied to the bite. By the time fall has come the rhizome sort of withers and the underground part looks like a bulb, but in full growth the plant has a clear underground rhizome somehow straddling the world of bulb and rhizome by season. The species seems unrelated to any other iris and may be similar to an ancestral missing link between rhizomateous and bulbous iris, spuria, siberian and other Asian species. Totally hardy here, too. And Mary Sue, if you have read this far, the picture you asked about is Iris japonica. I assume it has no stem and the fan of foliage is right on the ground, not elevated. With planning, I can have iris species in bloom here from Feb through August. best Jim W. -- Dr. James W. Waddick 8871 NW Brostrom Rd. Kansas City Missouri 64152-2711 USA Ph. 816-746-1949 E-fax 419-781-8594 Zone 5 Record low -23F Summer 100F +