That was my understanding, that they have been made more tolerant by cross breeding with BIs.

It was 'Kuala Lumpur' I had. I don't know its aril percentage, etc. It did fine in my improved clay soil for many years.

Well I received yesterday and planted my booty today. As per best practice they arrived a bit dried. I decided to give them an overnight in a plastic bag after dipping each in water for a few minutes...to rehydrate (which may be the wrong thing to do)...then I planted them in my dry soil and watered lightly to pack the soil down (more than to provide moisture). Wish me luck.

They will probably be fine.

For others reading this post the best method I've found for rhizomes (aril or not) is to store in the shade dry until planting time. Plant and thoroughly flood the area. Do not water again for 1 month no matter what the temperature. You want those roots to seek moisture down deep rather than near the surface.

Well we've been getting rain every week...so I haven't really watered much of anything this year (or the last three). Arkansas has become much more of a tropical rainforest than it used to be.

Lucky you!!!?

Well lucky, unless something kicks up heels and gives up ghost from overwatering (had a chinese mallow do that this year...which wasn't one that I would have guessed).

Just an update, the arils have grown slowly through late summer and autumn. All but one (which was just barely barely a bit of root..and a freebie of a newly released one) are at least six inches high (and some more like ten). I have multiple growths from each. One of them is almost like an iris forest, when I planted it...I saw it had about ten leads on it, even though it wasn't huge.

I can't wait till spring when hopefully, I will see those distinctive colors and patterns.

Be sure to post pictures for us!

Well Brash and Bold has bloomed...hoping on others..but unsure.

You can deal with a small plants that have a need for complete dryness for part of the year by growing them in bulb frames or covering with panes of glass.

I have had great success growing arils in large concrete pots in my very warm and moist mid-atlantic location. The pots drain quickly, and the concrete is porous allowing the soil to dry much faster. The iris do not seem to mind the slightly alkaline effect the concrete has on the soil. I bought a bunch of plants from Malevil years ago. The ones I stuck in the ground all died. Unfortunately the names all got lost over the years, and Malevil is not in business anymore, so I have no idea which one this is. :(

Garden 2016 · More Info

Garden 2016 · More Info

Well, I only got blooms from that one Aril, though the others grew but weren't as large. Brash and Bold had three fans that bloomed multiples.I have hopes for bigger better next year. I also ordered a few more (I got out'd on several last year) to augment.

I have no indication they aren't healthy...but we'll see what current rainy weather does for/to them.

Second bloom season for me here with my Arilbreds. Most didn't bloom the first year, but several have buds this season and 2 have now opened. Although we have wet summers here in WI, they are somewhat protected from rain by the eave of my roof. I do think a few of the rhizomes I planted will not grow this year due to overly moist conditions. A couple quick snaps:

'Jonnye's Magic'

Unknown- doesn't seem to match with anything I ordered.. (if anyone is an Arilbred expert and can ID this one, I'd appreciate!):

Lovely

Yes, two of my four arilbreds from last August planting didn't bloom this year, but grew healthy growths. I think they just weren't big enough and had enough food reserves to go for bloom. Having concluded that I can grow these(hopefully not prematurely), I have 7 more selections coming in July.

Got another surprise this week. As a bonus, the grower gave me an absolutely tiny piece of a new introduction last year. It produced a growth bud that appeared to dry up...and I figured it was gone. However it just now started growing