Regelia and Regeliocyclus irises
Peter Taggart (Sat, 26 Nov 2011 16:48:40 PST)

The different species and their respective hybreds produce more or less
winter foliage if the weather is mild. They will continue to grow through a
mild winter. Plants derived from colder areas are less inclined to winter
foliage. The desert plants are more susceptible to bacterial rot than other
rhizomatous Iris, especially in warm damp conditions.
I try to dry the more southern species out to make them pretty dormant in
Summer, but I like to be sure that they have got their roots deep down in
order to sustain them better against the drought. The rest I keep enough
moisture on to maintain a leaf or two - it makes it easier to break
dormancy.
Once these Iris start to root in Autumn they will continue their growth
cycle unless slowed down by either cold or drought. I dry them out a bit in
mid winter for about ten weeks, they are then less likely to rot if cold
suspends their growth. The leaves are then fairly irrelevant, if they burn
in frost more will grow, just as with other bearded Iris

The roots can go very deep -I would guess three feet or more and are
designed to be efficiant enough to sustain the plants in desert conditions
Peter (UK)

On Sun, Nov 27, 2011 at 12:21 AM, Jane McGary <janemcgary@earthlink.net>wrote: