It's taken me a few years of comical incompetence to finally see some reticulata blooms that I've planted myself. This year I forgot a bag of these in the shed and didn't plant them until February, when some of them had already sprouted. Unbelievably, some have bloomed. I bought a mixed bag at Lowe's. Not sure what variety, but that sure is a nice shade of blue. Will I succeed in having a whole container next year? Let's wait and see!

Tienito ~ I like those in a pot. That is a good idea, even if it was almost by accident.

Evelyn, I've always thought that a pot of them looks so smart. As you can see, most of the bulbs didn't quite make it to bloom, but I'm glad to have seen these. They really shouldn't be that hard, but every year I manage to screw it up!

They sure are a very lovely blue, Tienito.

I've tried at least 5 different I. ret. and had mixed results. My main problem is to get them to come back the 2nd year, so far I've only managed that a couple of times. I suspect "...comical incompetence..." happens in my garden too.

Lilli, I hear that even with the best culture they tend to dwindle away. I read that the bulb tends to break apart after blooming and it takes many years for them to reach blooming size again. They're inexpensive, so I try again and again!

Well, as long as I get one season out of them I might keep trying as they are both pretty and early.

All of my reticulata irises are in the ground. About half of the bulbs bloom which makes me wonder if they just bloom every second year.

I have some in a pot from last year. They did not bloom this spring, but they have grown the most substantial leaves I've ever seen on any reticulatas - in pots or in the ground, so I hope that will provide them enough energy to bloom next year. I just have to remember to plant them out somewhere where the voles will not get them.

Good luck, Lilli! Robin, I read that they are prone to splitting into bulblets that take a while to reach blooming size again. It's possible that you're in a two-year cycle. I'm going to plant these in the ground and see. Some of the ones that didn't bloom seem to have already broken up into smaller plants.

Thanks for the information Tienito I now have a better understanding of what is occurring.

I'll just plant mine out now and see what happens, if they never reappear, I'll just blame the voles!