When we are holding irises for the annual sale, we lay them out in flat cardboard boxes in the shade with plenty of air circulation. We only hold them this way for a week to 10 days.

One year we had alot of irises left after the sale, so we held them another 2 weeks to donate to a garden club. The club members reported that they did well the next year.

Moisture is probably the worst enemy and heat is also a problem. If you hold them so long that they shrivel, they are probably 'gonners'.

Give away many to your gardening friends. Then you can always go back to them for a new start if you need it.

Good Luck, Kristee

I have to say, iris can be pretty tough. One year I dug a bunch of iris in July. Some family issues came up & I just left them on a table on my deck, full sun all day long. They sat there til the following spring. It is amazing how many survived, close to half of them. I'm sure they would do much better in the shade. Last summer I missed a rhizome, set it on the deck rail to remind me to plant it. It fell behind the grill & I forgot about it. This spring my husband pulled out the grill & knocked the rhizome off into the flower bed. It is growing mostly on top of the ground quite nicely there this year.