Dear Friends - I'd like to draw you attention to a plant I have introduced into cultivation that bulb growers might find interesting. Iris City Gardens has introduced Iris anguifuga, a new species never available commercially before. read more about it here. http://iriscitygardens.com/newintroductions.html/ This species has been grown by Chinese herbalist for centuries, but never brought into cultivation until I collected a few plants in 1989 in Hangzhou, China. I was delighted to find it fully hardy in my Zone 5 garden where it's strange annual growth cycle seems to accommodate to my climate. My original plant has been vegetatively propagated and introduced under the fitting name of 'Snake Bane'. Because of its odd growth cycle it seems that it also completely thwarts the pesky iris borers. When borer eggs hatch after winter dormancy, the plants' foliage goes into its spring dormancy, thus denying young borer caterpillars a food source. Maybe it should be called 'Borer Bane' ! It has many characteristics that are unique in the genus. For bulb enthusiasts it has some strange under ground habits. At its peak of growth and bloom the plant has a dense semi-woody rhizome. A bit odd looking, but as the foliage goes dormant and over summer the rhizome shrinks back to the smaller terminal portion and just before new growth begins in fall, this underground part closely resembles a bulb-like form. This species suggest one way that illustrates the gradual pathway between the distinctly bulbous and distinctly rhizomatous iris species. The flower too shows some odd characteristics of both Siberian and Spuria irises, but is the only Iris species to have a single bract beneath the flower. While not a major garden 'show off', it is an iris with a distinct story all its own. Just FYI Jim W. -- Dr. James W. Waddick 8871 NW Brostrom Rd. Kansas City Missouri 64152-2711 USA Ph. 816-746-1949 Zone 5 Record low -23F Summer 100F +