Wow! This my first post, so please excuse anything untoward. I over wintered dinner plate dahlias and glads, though I didn't separate by color. Are you interested? What color are your tb irises? Roni

I leave the foliage to get a bit brown and tatty then whip it all off - the only foliage which looks well over the summer is the Dalmatian iris pallida variegata which maintains its cool freshness throughout the season. Brown and dying foliage has done its job for this year and just annoys me looking sordid. The iris don't seem to mind at all....although I pull the old leaves rather than cutting them back....when dead, they come out cleanly and easily

planted them with the roots down ==>>> when you start with this premise.. you are 99% of the way to success.. lol ... in my z5 .. i wouldnt worry about the soaking part ... and as far as i am concerned.. with this plant.. you could have run it over ... twice ... with the car before planting.. and it will live.. whether or not you get a good flower show.. is dependent on the veracity of the stock you bought .. not what you did with it after ... [if it was some bigboxstore packed in a box plant, rather than a pot grown plant] you also said: I mixed in some composted manure and chopped up the dirt a bit ==>> when you start to understand that you were working the SOIL .. and that you had dirt all over you after you were done playing.. you will come to have a better understanding of what soil development is all about ... words mean things.. and help you to conceptualize what you are doing .. and where you are going ... you were amending the soil to aid in water movement and retention ... through the incorporation of some humus ... which also added some nutrients ... i wouldnt waste much energy.. worrying about this one ken Here is a link that might be useful: link

I wouldn't give up on them, but I would really doubt that they made it. I never had luck with purchased rhizomes even when bought when they were first put on the shelves. The ones I bought were not completely dry. Still, my Siberians have only shown up in the last few days & it is probably warmer here.