I'm pretty excited about something that I learned this year regarding bearded iris growing in my zone 23/24. We have very hot dry conditions, with sandy soil. Iris don't like to have mulch over the rhizomes and I felt perhaps I couldn't grow them well here.

I purchased about 20 of them from Shreiners about 8 to 10 years ago, and over that time period, I lost all but one very strong light lavendar strain. They seemed to be difficult to water and fertilize without planting too deeply, and then, of course, the rhizomes were subjected to rot.

So, I decided to plant them around a hole that I carved out, thereby, allowing water and fertilizer to stay in the needed area, without subjecting the rhizome to standing water.

This seems to be very effective - the main thing is to keep the rhizome above ground - many new iris growers find that hard to do, but to bury them invites rot. Planting them on the sides of the hole not only keeps water and fertilzer where needed, but also drains any standing water away from the rhizome as well.

Just my 2 c's.

Bejay