I can’t help Ina in her quest for Japanese iris seeds, but I can tell a few Japanese iris themed stories. The Japanese iris I grow now are named cultivars, comparatively huge flowers which rarely if ever seem to set viable seed. They do make malformed seeds in small numbers, but I have never planted them. These plants can be over-the-top gorgeous. On the other hand, the first Japanese irises I ever saw came from plants raised from a pack of seed from Park Seed Co. long ago. For decades they sold Japanese iris seeds as the ‘Higo’ mix. I had seen them in the catalog for years but had never tried them. But then the late Henry Mitchell, the Washington Post writer, mentioned how easy they were to grow in one of his Sunday pieces. So I eventually tried them. The seeds germinated readily and in the second year began to produce handsome flowers. To my inexperienced eyes they were magnificent; little did I know what was in store for me when years later I finally grew modern quality cultivars. But back then those seedlings were the only ones I had ever seen, and to me they were wonderful. When the iris seedling patch was blooming, the first thing I would do in the morning is go out and inspect the day’s new blooms. One such inspection tour provided a truly beguiling experience. On that day, a white flower was opening. It was still very early in the morning and the sun was still very low in the sky. It was, in fact, the morning edition of “magic hour”. The white iris was not yet fully open, and as I stood there admiring this pristine bloom, something enchanting happened: the low rays of the sun turned the white flower a soft pinkish orange for about fifteen minutes. This happened long ago, and I’ve never forgotten it. Ina, when you get your seeds, I hope your irises provide you with similar memories. Jim McKenney jimmckenney@jimmckenney.com Montgomery County, Maryland, USA, 39.03871º North, 77.09829º West, USDA zone 7 My Virtual Maryland Garden http://www.jimmckenney.com/ BLOG! http://mcwort.blogspot.com/ Webmaster Potomac Valley Chapter, NARGS Editor PVC Bulletin http://www.pvcnargs.org/ Webmaster Potomac Lily Society http://www.potomaclilysociety.org/