Reticulata section Iris usually die from fungal infections acquired when they start to go dormant in Spring. Warm humid conditions when the roots die off, or the leaves are fading, cause opportunistic infections. Also, sudden warm spells may initiate premature dormancy in which case there may be no new bulb produced for the next year. Either soil which does not dry out on a hot day in early Spring, (insulated by gravel for example), or growing in a cold spot will work for most of them. Iris winowgradowii and it's seedlings such as Katherine Hodgekin, as well as Iris histrioides do well in a more organic soil for me, reflecting the moisture available to them in a cooler native environment. Iris bakeriana and it's children, (Clairette, Pauline...), like a sandier drier environment with me, as does I danfordiae and some forms of Iris reticulata. These I do plant deeper to control moisture and temperature at the roots. I do grow 20 or 30 reticulate Iris forms, all of which are perennial for me, and most of which i acquired between ten and twenty years ago. Peter (UK) On 25 February 2018 at 17:10, Joe G <joseph.andrew.gorman@gmail.com> wrote: > Does anyone know if this is true with other reticulata section irises? I > have two I planted out last fall on a rocky outcropping (I. r. 'Clairette' > and I. r. 'Pauline'), blooming now but they may not be the full 5-6" deep > you recommend. Iris reticulata has not been perennial for me in the past, I > thought it was too much summer moisture but maybe now I know why! > > -joe > > > On Feb 25, 2018 7:14 AM, "Dan Fetty" <dan.fetty@tegraglobal.com> wrote: > > Here is the popular Katherine Hodgekin, blooming today. > > The iris was named for the wife of Elliot Hodgkin, an English > > bulb enthusiast. > > > Plant the bulbs DEEP. Shallow planting makes the bulbs > > "Rice out." They will break up into literally dozens of > > tiny bulblets about the size of a grain of wheat, > > that are difficult to collect and raise to blooming size. > _______________________________________________ pbs mailing list pbs@lists.pacificbulbsociety.net http://lists.pacificbulbsociety.net/cgi-bin/…