I ordered this bulb this fall and have read a lot of somewhat conflicting info on planting and growing it. Anyone here with some tips or word of advice?

My success with any of the aril irises has been 'less than stunning", to say the least, but.....those that DO grow for me, are planted in a "raised bed" (not really very high....just 4 inches higher than the surrounding soil), filled with a mix of "light" soil (about 50% sand), and "topped off" with a 2 inch deep layer of "pea gravel"). Excess rain, and soil moisture is NOT your friend ! Especially during the summer dormancy period, they need to be as dry as possible. I've heard (but never tried) of folks even erecting "roofs" over the plants, to keep them dry during the summer ! My thought were, that the "pea gravel" top layer....where the rhizome actually sits....won't hold ANY water, and the "sandy" soil, underneath, drains the moisture away, as quickly as possible .. Good luck, and please keep us posted, as to your progress !

There is an old thread on this subject here: The thread "Iris 'Dardanus' - Am I doing this right?" in Irises forum

Hope it helps!

cwalke said:I ordered this bulb this fall and have read a lot of somewhat conflicting info on planting and growing it. Anyone here with some tips or word of advice?

It seems like growing advice for anything is always conflicting! I blame it on the fact that everyone is working with a different palette of local conditions. I've shared how I grow Dardanus here in southern New England in the thread that Lilli linked to. I just want to mention that Dardanus didn't bloom the first year for me, but has bloomed spectacularly the second and third year. I bought five rhizomes and divided them between two large and one medium clay pots. The efforts are totally worth it when Dardanus blooms - it's such a lovely sight early in the season. I hope it does well for you.

I just ordered another 10 small rhizomes and planted them in a large terracotta pot with plenty of grit mixed in the potting soil. After it blooms, I'm planning to put the pot under the eaves of the roof to keep it dry during summer dormancy.

I planted them in a very gritty mix in a shallow pot last fall. This is how they look now