So according to this info the Iris versicolor is definitely NOT a Japanese Iris, although the nursery told me it was. About par for course I suppose. Thank you Hafstein and Annalee. It is frustrating as I just don't KNOW anything about them. Have made contact with various people in the Iris world now, including New Zealand itself, so will see how it all goes, after Christmas. Here it is hot and dry, hot means about 24 degrees C. Ina NZ Iris versicolor is a hardy plant, commonly grown in gardens in Iceland (local name: roðaíris). According to my icelandic litterature it is a North-American species, wild distibution given to be: Labrador - Manitoba and south to Ohio, Wisconsin and Minnesota. And I know that it grows wild in Newfoundland as well. This fits in with the USDA Plants Profile [ http://plants.usda.gov/java/profile/?symbol=IRVE2 ] and Flora of North America [ http://efloras.org/florataxon.aspx/… and distribution map at http://efloras.org/object_page.aspx/… ] If I can trust my memory, The Reykjavík Botanical Garden got a few seed-collections (picked in the wild) from several different N-American sources when I worked there about thirty or thirtyfive years ago. Most of the seedlings survived and grew prosperously - and I think that most of the icelandic garden examplars now are descendants of that stock. I hope this gives you a clarity on the original distribution of Iris versicolor; it is a native North-American plant! Best wishes - and may you all have happy hollidays! Hafsteinn Hafliðason, Selfoss - Iceland. ----- Original Message ----- From: "Ina" <klazina@orcon.net.nz> To: "Pacific Bulb Society" <pbs@lists.ibiblio.org> Sent: Wednesday, December 23, 2009 11:08 PM Subject: [pbs] re Japanese Iris > Is the Iris versicolor a Japanese Iris? Somehow the Internet is not > very clear on that. > > Ina Auckland NZ > _______________________________________________ > pbs mailing list > pbs@lists.ibiblio.org > http://pacificbulbsociety.org/list.php > http://pacificbulbsociety.org/pbswiki/ > __________ Information from ESET NOD32 Antivirus, version of virus signature database 4713 (20091223) __________ The message was checked by ESET NOD32 Antivirus. http://www.eset.com/