viega, Louisana Iris is very cold hardy, loves water, or bog, or even planted in ground next to a pond. My friend had her louisiana iris just bloom, and she is in zone 6, she had a very bad winter last year. Japanese Iris LOVES bog conditions. If you plan it in regular soil, you have to water every day to keep it wet. SInce you are in zone 7, I would recommend you looking at a nursery for japanese iris, they are absolutely beautiful, they are very tall too. I have both, they are not in the pond, I had the same problem as you with the dirt, so I planted them in the soil outside of the pond this year. Hopefully the louisiana iris will survive, I do water them every day though. There are 2 different kinds of Elelphant ears. One doesn't like wet feet, the other one does. You want Colocasia Esculenta for your bog area. They can go in soil outside of pond too, but this EE does really well in water. I have a gorgeous EE in a pot, with a deep saucer on the outside of it, keeping it real wet, and it is thriving. They can take more sun than I thought too, but they must be kept real moist. Good Luck.

Hello, I have Siberian Iris, they are med. blue with yellow lined signals. I thought they were "Blue Oriental Siberian" but they get 30" tall. I would love to trade for some Town Council, Gladiator's gift and Vermillion Treasure La Iris. I will give you double amounts of my Siberians for yours. Will trade 24 of mine for 4 of each of these three. Let me know. Jean recipesaver2

Thanks for the tips. I was surprised that I have so many Louisiana iris! Thanks again.... I normally hang out at the daylily forum, but will visit here often!

LOL Sorrel, mowing was my ex mother-in-laws method of "deadheading" what she called the "flags" in NW Oklahoma. But she never watered or fertilized anything. If plants lived, great. If not, great. The iris did better some years than others, but they were really hardy! It was amazing, BTW, to see their pecan tree, planted on a gyp rock cap to begin with, double its size in one year once it had drip line and some mulch. The dern thing went from 5 feet tall (after ten years!) to 10-15 feet in one season! Amazing what a little TLC will do.