Sometimes they just sit there if its hot and dry, and wait till cooler, wetter weather comes in late summer or fall to start growing, but as long as the rhizomes are still firm, they're typically fine.

I may have to buy a new patience hat, Neal to replace the one that's wearing out! It won't cool off here until October! But hey, I can water ugly for a looong time~

Deebie said:Thanks for mentioning that Neal. That makes a lot of sense. My first thought was Yikes! Could that happen to me with all of my sunny areas? I am thinking of adding lots more irises to my beds. But, the sun is brutally hot here.

They'll be just fine!

Thanks for the reassurance, Gabriel.

@barbalee Listen to Neil for he is wise. Well, at least this time he knows what he is talking about.

My new ones always look like that. Remember, for the first few days they do need water every day. You don't have to drown them but give them a drink. When they start to grow new fans you can cut back to once a week if you don't get rain. Again, don't over do it, they just need a drink. Over watering will cause rot and disease.

Now that I freaked you out about watering...relax and enjoy. They will be fine, irises are pretty tough. I have planted them like that, gave them a shot of water when they went in the ground and ignored them and they still grew so...

Fortunately, I'm not freaked, Lori, but I'm hunting for my patience hat!

caitlinsgarden said:I am starting to dig and divide, and LOL I am running out of space to replant! Except for a large semishade spot that is now covered with lamium. My thought - I could clear out some room here and replant the extra divisions in a maybe less than enough sun spot, and that would solve the crowding temporarily, and next year when I have liberated more new ground I can move them. Thoughts?

No expert, but I think it would be fine. Most transplants of any kind do better if left in a shady-ish spot at first anyway. Relate to the lack of space and sun problem. I'm building raised beds (18 inches deep) now over a paved spot that was intended to be a parking space. Boy, 4.5 cubic yards sure is a lot of dirt when you have to haul it by the bucket load, but who needs a parking space when you can have iris instead?

Lyn - a wheelbarrow will help immensely in getting that dirt moved. All my beds are raised and I have hauled a lot of cubic yards by now. Amazing how fast a huge pile of dirt becomes not quite enough to fill that last bed!

Good luck with your new beds. You will be leaving the paving? Just a thought: have you ever heard of kugel beds? You can check into it at the permaculture forum. It is where you use branches, etc. as well as organic matter and soil to build raised beds.

I use Hügel culture in some of my beds and it has worked very well for my woodland bed, where most of the plants likes humus-rich soil, which does not dry out. The large pieces of wood buried in the bed help hold moisture during dry spells.
I have also used it in my new raised vegetable bed, but will have to wait and see how that works out...

Lilli-be careful the iris beds don't stay too moist. They don't like it and can rot easier.

Moving to a new house last summer left most irises in temporary locations as I was in a hurry to get them in the ground. I have been moving select ones [and daylilies] around this summer after their bloom time. So far all are doing well, just needing a little extra water for a week or two. New ones of course get the extra water for a bit longer, 2-3 times a week. Very hardy!

Someone said - GOOD LABELS. That is one of my downfalls. At least I am trying to remember to write the names on the leaves when I divide them this year. Too often I rely on my -"well, that bunch is (*&*) and that one is ($_$) and those are (@!@) memory technique. Some of you may know how well that works. I can't even remember which are which after they are all done blooming.

@DaveinPA

Not sure it would be suitable for irises! Unless you are in a very dry area... which I'm not!