http://www.picachomountainiris...

just found out from someone in our club, that arils are on sale until the 25th. if anyone is interested?

I wish money was something I could just like pull from thin air. Because then I could have free range for all the iris purchases I could ever want...

Until I joined this forum recently, I did not know what an 'arilbred' was. I have to say, I really quite like what I see with them. Though, what I'm not sure about is it being from hot and dry places.
I do not know if an arilbred would do here in the very, very rainy Virginia. Currently going on 13 of 23 days receiving a "significant" rain fall here in August....
It's been dry for around four days now, and I'm sort of holding out hope that it decides to rain again because my plants will eventually need it.

Nah, I'm not sure that arilbreds would like it here. They are real pretty though from what I have seen. I'd love to own some eventually!

I grow AB's in pots of sandy soil so there is no standing water and they grow very well here. Arils would not like the damp and humid days.

I planted my first arilbred this year in a rather sandy spot but not sure they will like Kentucky's rain. It did come from someone in KY though. Don't know if it ever bloomed for her. Maybe I should put them in a sandy pot.

I ordered several arilbreds this year. They have been planted in large pots with a lot of sand mixed in. This is my first experience with them. Getting them established will be a challenge for me.

Does anyone have any pointers on this?

i have three arils, and only time will tell how they fare. the ones i got last year seem hardier than the first one i got. i read somewhere where they don't like too much water in the summer? i almost killed mine because i wasn't watering it enough. but i'm still experimenting as to how much is too much vs. too little water for my climate.

time will tell, because i got all three from the same friend, she grows them in the ground, whereas i grow mine in pots. i think i need to fertilize them a bit more in the spring. right now the leaves are turning really brown and crisp. but, i don't want to overwater........any advice?

Daphne ~ I am in the same boat with you...having purchased my first ones this year. Childsong looks quite dried out. I hope that I haven't killed it already!

Since we do not get rain during the summer, it should be the right climate for them. But they need a little moisture to get established.

I emailed Judy at Shady Spot, and she said water in well when first planting. Then she "mists" them about once a week or so. Also, in her hot Texas climate, they are in pots, in shade, in the beginning. I started out by putting mine in large pots in the sun. I put sand in the mix, and near the top, all sand with a little gravel.

In one of my books, one person recommended storing them over summer in vermiculite and then planting them out in fall. But that would be for pure arils, with a person that gets summer rain, which we do not get.

Carl ~ What advice do you have for us?
@coboro

This is an old post I bookmarked:

arilbred said:1/4 bred arilbreds should grow right beside your talls most will look like them. OB- means it is a oncocyclus X bearded iris there is no reglia in this OB for oncobred and the - means it is only 1/4 aril
RB reglia bred reglia X bearded
Ob oncobred onco X bearded
OGB onco- reglia cross X bearded
Any of these with a + (eg.OGB+) is 3/4 bred
Any with a - ( eg. OB-) is 1/4 bred
To anyone who would try them start with the 1/4 bred OGB- silent tears well off to work

If you have them in pots with lots of sand, I think it would be hard to overwater them since the sand drains quicker than other soils. If they are 1/4 arils I would water them much like you water your TB's. That would probably be true for 1/2 arils too.

when the tops of the leaves turn brown please water them. Hopefully you can learn their needs and keep them watered before the tips show stress.

thank you barbara, leslie, and bonnie. i have been watering them about 1-2x a week. they are in cactus mix which is very porous and sandy. we'll see if they survive another year?