I think they will do fine, after planting them water them in good and then don't water any more untill you see signs of life. It may take a couple of weeks, but im pretty sure they will come up. They may look thirsty, but don't do it! Heat + water = rot. Give them some time. My mother gave me some daylily crowns that were all dried up with the roots attached like a rhizome, and I planted them in a pot and they are growing for me now, took a little longer since there were no leaves at all, but they are fine. They probably won't bloom this year, but at least you'll give the roots a chance to get established before winter. Good luck, hope this helps. -Jessica

Bearded iris should be no problem, just keep them dry & cool, so they won't rot. Dormant peony roots may be the same, as long as you can get them planted in the spring, but I'm not certain about that. If you haven't already, you may need to do some research. My understanding peonies & some iris need a certain amount of cold to bloom and may not where you are moving. Daylilies, you might could just dig them, put them in plastic bags & store outside. This could be problematic though, especially in the south. Plastic tends to promote rot, more so in heat. Not much of a problem if you are just doing for a short time, but I can see this not working if you have to store them for a long time. I'm sure someone from the southern areas will be more help than me though.

I got all of mine kinda sorta potted- not the neatest job in the world but enough to hold them over until the weekend. I had forgotten all the bulbs I had ordered- lilies and liatris out the yahoo. It was quite funny, though- I had gone out with intentions of sticking them into quart pots or even large Solo cups with drainage holes drilled that I use to start seedlings. Being this was my first Hallson's order I was not prepared for the hugeness of the plants! Most times when I open a box of plants I find myself wishing they were larger but in yesterday's case each new bag opened was "OMG it's so huge" and "Oh crap, those roots are enormous!" The astilbe roots are simply massive, the daylilies could each be split into many plants, the ferns simply enormous, and some of the groundcover I swear would be sold as ten plants by other vendors. It was funny, but nothing fit into anything any smaller than a trade gallon pot, and many of those are kind of crammed. I used up all my mixed potting media and was trying to avoid mixing up another batch, so I culled some baby palms I have been nursing along and robbed some more media there. Hustling around like a fool trying to get everything in a decent shape for holding. It was so cold and rainy and while I was working under cover it was quite uncomfortable, but I got it done. What a pleasant surprise on the plant sizes, though- I already have another order started... And I love the wheelbarrow idea, but both of ours are full to the brim of compost I had husband dig out for me to use this spring for planting and topdressing. I have him well trained to keep them full for me- don't want to spoil that habit at all.

Dardar, “the bare root cannas I have gotten had no rhizome just roots and perhaps a bit of the stem.” I think you may have misunderstood or were mistakenly informed about what you were purchasing in regard to your cannas. Our hybrid cannas use vegetative reproduction of the rhizome and NOT a root. The only roots cannas must have are the soft feeder roots that grow from the underground rhizome for the uptake of water and nutrients as well as an anchor in the ground. Canna rhizomes are the underground nutrient storage site that allows the plants to survive winter storage and hold nutrients for starting the next year’s new growth. The term bare root is misleading term and can only reference a rhizome without any soft feeder roots. Your local big box stores often sell packaged cannas containing canna rhizomes. These cannas are often referred to as dry bulb sales or bare root sale packages. They contain canna rhizomes. Kent