A yellow flowered and at least one of the blue fowered cultivars of Dutch Iris grew and flowered well at my parents' garden in southern New Mexico, climatic zone 7 for years during the 1970's. They eventually declined but I assumed it was because they were not divided. Foliage still comes up. Cold winters (the flower beds are kept moist) and hot dry summers. The bulbs are in among other bulbs and perennials and so get summer supplemental irrigation. They don't really spread at all but it is obvious there are daughter bulbs produced. Other colors, bronze and white did not perform well ... I don't even recall them coming up to flower the first year (could be not as hardy?). Boyce Tankersley btankers@chicagobotanic.org -----Original Message----- From: James Waddick [mailto:jwaddick@kc.rr.com] Sent: Thursday, September 11, 2003 1:27 PM To: Pacific Bulb Society Subject: Re: [pbs] Dutch iris requirements Dear Jane and all; You are destroying my illusions of fields of Dutch Iris growing in the Pacific NW. I understood that this was at one time a major growing area for Dutch Iris (among others). Here they are planted in fall, bloom in spring and disappear. Bulbs seem hardy enough, but they are NOT long lived. A rare bulb blooms weakly the second year. The Dutch must grow them literally by the ton as they are cheap and widely available. What's an Iberian bulb doing flourishing in Holland? Can anyone report long term success with them? 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 + _______________________________________________ pbs mailing list pbs@lists.ibiblio.org http://www.pacificbulbsociety.org/list.php