I planted a rhizome in the Spring in the ground. After cutting away a lot of the Annuals in the garden, I was able to view the rhizome clearly in the ground, and noticed it had no Fans attached to the rhizome. Is this a problem. ? The rhizome is solid.

If it was planted that long ago, yes, I would say that there's likely a problem. I suppose , if it was badly overgrown by the annuals, that might be a factor, and, with those now gone...it may spring into action. You have quite a bit of 'growing season" yet to come, in your zone, so, make sure it doesn't get too dry, and cross your fingers !

As I'm cutting out the Annuals which have become totally overgrown and entangled, I'm finding a lot of Iris rhizome Loss ---- I've lost "Alcazar" and a few others. The rhizomes totally disappeared, no doubt from rot. But I do have a lot of potted rhizomes that will replace them happily

I found, by trial, and lots of error, that "mixed beds" don't work for me (I know lots do it with success....but I can't). and I think the following reasons are why....when the "other" plants need water...the iris don't, and when they need some "nitrogen boost....the iris don't....the iris need the sun on the rhizome, or at least the soil OVER the rhizome, to keep it dry.....and the "other" plants block the sun.....the iris also need good airflow around them, to help with drying, and fungal diseases...the "other " plants block this airflow.....without rigorous deadheading, the "other" plants will 'self seed' into the iris clumps....I have enough of that already, with blown-in weed and grass seeds. There are a "few" plants that I "allow" in some of the iris beds........the spring bulbs...tulips, daffies, and such, because the foliage dies back quickly enough to not cause any of the aforementioned problems, glads (another irid, really!), because their vertical growth doesn't either shade very much, or block much airflow, and true lilies....again, vertical growth.
You will have to find the "system" that works for you, in your climate, and conditions....if you want"mixed beds, I would say increasing the space between the iris to several feet, and not crowding them any closer than 10"-12" with any other plant.

Arlyn, you are right on! Thank You. You are correct. Well, I've learned something now. I will correct the situation. Once I dig out all of what's left of the Annuals, which at this time is only some Zinnia, the beds will be cleared out and ready to plant the Iris rhizomes that I currently have growing in pots. But sadly I did lose some rhizomes that were planted in March/April in the beds that rotted and died, due to, as you stated, got watered because the
Annuals needed the water (but the Rhizomes certainly did not), plus they all got covered and
towered over by the Cosmos and Zinnia (which reached 6-7-ft. tall). I will keep the Iris beds
as "Iris beds" and won't do this again...... Thanks for the response, Arlyn .

I find that mixed beds can work if you watch how you place things. I learned that the hard way though. Now I put clumps of things together that work, and leave space for irises in between. The newest bed I have made has a center of daylilies, peonies, lilies and clematis then lines of iris on the outside. I mulch the middle, but not the irises. Seems to be working well.

I had a couple of varieties last year completely lose their fans, but the rhizomes remained firm. It was during the time of year when it was hot and dry, and when cooler temps and rain returned they started developing fans again. This year the same irises have remained green and happy looking, but then we've had the wettest summer I can recall.

Keep a list of plants that work. Schreiners have a great mixed display bed (or beds). I envy them their lupine. I was talking to Steve Schreiner & he said that there was some disease in their California poppies so they switched to ranculis instead. yes, computer, I know that is not spelled correctly.

I think the problem was I bought the wrong Zinnia - I meant to buy the liliput variety that only gets to be about 4-6" tall. My Zinnia were 6-ft.+ tall, combined with Cosmos that also were that height. So, now I know for next year. I think I should just have Iris beds......

I needed to re-introduce this thread for a reason - I just got 2 rhizomes in the mail with No fans.
I could tell the rhizomes were from a mature older clump - but there were no fans, lots of roots,
but old roots. So, I felt that all I could do was plant the rhizomes in the garden and hope for the best. What do you guys think ????

If it was me, I'd pot them for a while. You can maintain some moisture better that way (IMHO)

Curious where they came from.............?

The rhizomes are already planted in the Iris garden bed.
I'm not sharing where they came from.

Interesting..........

Yes, Mary Ann, it is .........

Once upon a time, I ordered some Irises on Ebay. The seller offered some really beautiful Irises, pictures were great, she had lots of positive feedback. Her prices were good too. I bought about sixty dollars worth.

When the Irises arrived, each variety was nicely wrapped in small brown paper bags, and the bags were packed nicely in the box. Upon opening the bags, I found three totally naked rhizomes in each -- no leaves, no roots. I immediately contacted the seller and asked what that was about. She told me that this was the way that she ships all of her Irises, as did her grandmother before her. And, she went on to say, her grandmother had ordered Irises from Holland and that they always were shipped naked, like this. She told me "don't worry -- just plant them -- they will grow roots and leaves and be just fine".

So I planted them. Two years later they finally bloomed -- and they were not the beautiful Irises that I had ordered and paid for -- they were ordinary ditch Irises. Every one of them. I had been scammed. Of course, by that time, the seller had changed her name on Ebay. I found her, but she denied being the same person. I contacted Ebay and they told me they could do nothing because too much time had passed -- that they didn't keep records of transactions that long. Even though I had an Ebay receipt from the transaction, they would do nothing. End of story.

It came to pass that I read on one of the Iris threads on Dave's Garden that this particular woman had a full-fledged business on Ebay doing this to people. I was one of many. Someone posted a picture of her house (a satellite shot) and she had no Irises growing on her property. All of this evidence was presented to Ebay, and they still did nothing. As far as I know, she's still on Ebay stealing money from unsuspecting buyers.

So. When I hear about Irises arriving with no leaves and no roots, I get real suspicious.

Yup, there sure are lots of scammers out there. Some scamming money millions at a time, and others just taking lots of small $50 to $60 amounts. We can either work together to make sure we protect ourselves from them, or hope at least that karma will even things out in the end.

Oh, Karma will do it in the end but I would like a little sample of what Karma will dish out instantly.

Hmmmm....Yes. You really do have to deal with reputable Commercial Iris growers for all of your rhizomes. I have never been scammed on Ebay with Iris rhizomes though. I have gotten a lot of Iris rhizomes just this year off of Ebay in March/April and was pleased with all of the rhizomes I received.

I just finished planting and completing one of my Iris beds. I planted 15 new iris rhizomes in the bed. One bed is now done. I have another yet to clean up and prepare for more rhizomes. I had a very successful day!