This iris has been in my possession for nearly 25 years, and does well for me. The best growth I ever had was at my old house: it was in a largish terracotta pot (say a 9" diameter azalea pot, which is somewhat shallower than a standard pot), potted in a mix including lots of peatmoss, plunged in a raised sand bed in nearly full sun, with overhead protection from excessive winter wet. I believe the magic secret was that every morning before I made a fresh pot of tea, I'd run outside in my bathrobe and empty yesterday's cold leftover tea into the pot. This kept the soil nicely damp at all times; the sand plunge wicked away excessive moisture so it never stayed soggy. Also, being plunged in sand, the bulbs were kept on the cool side during the summer. This is one reticulata iris that will die if you bake the bulbs in the sun!! I lost my stock, except for one bulb, leaving the bulbs out in the sun for a couple of days one year. -- Rodger Whitlock Victoria, British Columbia, Canada Maritime Zone 8, a cool Mediterranean climate on beautiful Vancouver Island