Peter wrote: >With the right amount of moisture they are all evergreen, but to attempt >to maintain that level of moisture in a hot Summer is risky. The moisture >is good if deep down at the roots, but if it rises to the rhizome while >there is heat, the plant will succumb to bacterial rot. If the foliage is >warm and wet it will get 'rust'. That helps to explain why my aril irises are doing so well now that they are "loose" in covered but fully ventilated raised sand beds. There is some capillary action that brings moisture up from the subsoil, which is separated from the sand only by a woven groundcloth to keep out moles. Juno irises are also responding very well to this new home. The foliage is never warm and wet here; indeed that is a rule I follow with almost all my geophytes. Jane McGary Portland, Oregon, USA