Several years ago I moved some perennials from my father's garden into my own garden. When the iris came up the first year, there was a single flower like this in with them:

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Though there was plenty of foliage, there was only one flower. For two years afterwards, the same thing happened - only one flower in the foliage. Last summer there were no flowers at all - just the grass-like foliage.

It was my intent to dig up and separate the two but I never got around to it....until now. I have had to clear one garden bed in a hurry to make room for a shed. I had no choice but to dig up the iris and the mystery flower - the shed is coming and it was either move the flowers or set the shed on them. I was very surprised and happy to find bulbs with the rhizomes, since that made it easier to seperate the two.

Here are my questions/concerns:

Did moving them this early seal their fate - should I bother replanting them?

How close together should I plant them? They were very tight against each other and the iris rhizomes (which may be why they weren't blooming?)

My father had them in a (dappled) shade garden, and they did beautifully there (as did his peonies and iris, though it seems that's not supposed to happen) - would I be better off putting them somewhere in full sun to help them "recuperate"?

Thanks!