Leo Martin wrote concerning failed oncocylus iris The people in the iris society concluded they got too much winter rain here. We average 8" / 200mm rain per annum, 60% during the summer monsoon July-September. I cannot beleive that the 8"/200mm of yearly rain in Phoenix is too much winter rain. Of course, the species vary, but even desert species like Iris mariae do fine in the Jerusalem Botanical Garden which gets avg 550 mm of winter rain and dry summer. My oncos are in the ground on a slope with unmodified terra rosa soil - a clay soil from weathered limestone. They do fine - and I give the area an occaisional soak in the summer which may mimic your 120 mm of summer monsoons.. My personal feeling is that too dry and too loose a mix may be the problem. A key component of the summer dry climate, at least here, is dew. I feel dew is underrated as a factor in maintaining soil moisture in dry times, especially when a plant has a bulb or rhizome close to the surface. I lightly water the area weekly, even in the deep summer. I use xerophytic perennials and subshrubs in the bed to moniter the water situation - if they show stress, I water. I rely on the winter rains and the occaisional soakings to leach out salts left from light waterings of our tap water. All the best, Shmuel Silinsky Jerusalem Israel _______________________________________________ pbs mailing list pbs@mailman1.ibiblio.org http://pacificbulbsociety.org/list.php http://pacificbulbsociety.org/pbswiki/