Yes, you can replant now. In fact you should not wait too long since you want to get as much opportunity out of the current growing season for the iris to put down new roots and get established before the winter.
Since the iris are out of the ground already, you should examine them for any rot or borer damage (nasty mushy big holes in the rhizomes...not the little firm ones),and separate. If they look rotted or damaged you can give them the ol' bleach bath treatment(1 part household clorox type bleach to 10 parts water for 15 mins) to remove any bacteria and other pathogens then dry. If they look healthy you do not have to dry them out or bleach them.
Dig up the new bed and add some amendments if you want to boost growth and bloom season (compost, fertilizer, sand if your soil is too clay-ey). Clip foliage to 4-8" and replant; watering a bit to set the roots in, and water again in a every few days if you have no rain until the rhizome seems to be firmly in the ground. (1-2 weeks)
Laetitia

I agree with everything above, but I would go ahead and give them a bleach water bath and let them dry before planting. An ounce of prevention...just in case there's any bacteria on the rhizome waiting to play havoc once planted.

I have taken note of the procedure. I just bought a property with a very large iris garden that is now overgrown w/ thicket, weeds, brush... you name it. Best I can tell, the iris-lover died about 6 years back, and that's the last it was cared for. I can see hundreds of iris coming up through the ground, but nothing else due to lack of sunlight, and likely over populated. There are hundreds of metal engraved tags identifying the varieties. Pictures of this garden in it's glory are spectacular! If I can post them I will. What do you recomend to clear the brush, without disturbing the irises. Object is to salvage... Thanks.

If you are willing to put into this project the necessary labor you may have a real treasure. My first question is: Are the markers readable? If they are I would start a new area to receive the iris as I dug and seperated them. This way you can mostly keep them grouped by name by planting those closest to the marker together. When they bloom you can really ID them by checking the check list to see if they match the description in the check list per the name on the marker. With hundreds of markers this is going to require a lot of labor but it will be a labor of love if you are an iris fan. If the markers are not readable I would still group them that are closest to a marker when I dug them to seperate them. You may never be able to ID them all but at least you will have them grouped by color. I would love to have this situation. I would love it even more if the markers are readable.

I have a simular situation since I've got a bed that has gotten out of hand. I'm now digging up the rhizomes and bringing them in the house where it is cooler. They will stay dry and barerooted until I get the bed ready to replant them there again (hopefully just about a week or two).

My plan is to take the mower (or weedeater) in there after I've removed all the plants, and then till rows in that bed to plant the irises in. I can then mow in between the rows to save myself time with the weeding chore in the future.

I discovered that the irises I had in rows instead of beds are much easier for me to take care of and take a lot less time to weed. The neighbors always comment on how gorgeous my iris rows look.

You are blessed to have all those labeled irises. :)

mmcoy:
sounds like a great project. don't worry about 'disturbing' the iris. They should be dug every few years, separated, replanted with additional soil amendments where necessary. That way they will bloom for you, increase, and be happier. PLEASE post pictuers, with or without names on them. I just love old iris that have been rediscovered and rescued.
Laetitia

I just dug out two patches of iris that had been in the ground for five years, sprayed round-up on the area infested with witch grass and then a couple of days later amended the soil with compost and replanted after giving away quite a few rhizomes. Have to admit though that they were replanted closer to 8" than a foot apart

Sorry for the absence. Had some heavy travel this last two weeks. First off, thanks for the great replies on my overgrown iris garden. Yes, The labels are ledgible. The previous caretaker was very particular, in fact the entire 4 acres of yard property are laden w/ blooming trees, bushes, flowers... all chosen, I'm sure, to bloom one after the other...

As for the Iris garden, I haven't been able to completely take stock in what I have yet due to how overgrown it is. Very few blooms occurred this first season due to lack of sun. I did not want do anything the first season so we could take note of what trees/bushes bloomed or not. I will tell you the labels extend along the fenceline about 100+ feet, and go back as far as I can see, about 50 feet. Like I said before, this is very large. This will take a few years to salvage... I don't mind.

What are the thoughts on clear-cutting the overgrowth growth this winter, allowing next year to properly ID the area? I would then have a better idea of what size of new area I might need. Or, is this a time-of-the-essence thing? The more time, the more I lose?

Curious if any of you had heard of the previous owner that did all this? Harvey Everrett from east of Nashville, TN. I don't know whether this forum was active in 2000 and prior, but he was likely some sort of IRIS Assoc member.

I will figure out how to post pics. All I can offer is a scan of what once was... and then of what is. On one side it bums me out... on the other, it's very exciting to know there's a lot to be gained here...

Any thoughts, and add'l recomendations are welcome!

Can I post pics (by inserting in the text) in this forum, or only in the photo section? Pls advise. Don't want to break protocol...

I don't kmow about the pics. I think that you are a very lucky person to have hundreds of iris with name tags with them. I would do everything possible to keep the name tags in place until I could rework the iris that go with each tag. Named bearded iris rhizomes are a valuable plant and are sold year round on ebay. By the time you get all of these reworked you will be addicted to iris.

Yes, be careful of the clearcutting, so as not to disturb the iris tags and names. There are so many registered iris out there, thousands, that it would be impossible to recover the names of most of them if you disturbed the tags now. You also could make a plot plan on an excel spreadsheet or piece of paper of all the iris and the names on them to keep in case some tags did get dislodged.
Since the iris have been neglected and overgrown for 6 years, taking your time now to save and weed is better than to try to rush and do it quickly.
Never heard of Harvey Everett, but you might try to contact the local chapter of AIS and ask about him. Don't know what your local chapter is, but you can research it thru the AIS webpage.
As for posting pictures, you can post them here as thumbnails or post on the 'gallery' of the iris forum.
When you are ready to post some let me know and I can walk you thru it.
Basically there are two ways to access pictures:
1) have a photobucket account (its free) put your pics there and then embed the pictures with a link to it.
2) Simpler way: just link a picture on your own PC. It will not come out embedded in the note, just a link, but it does the trick.
Good luck.
Laetitia

Thanks for the feedback. Will take a stab at the picture postings...

Have already started a plot plan that encompases the whole property, and will need a specific one just for the Iris plot. All intentions are to take my time and salvage what is here. I am an engineer at heart, and absolutely value the time, effort (already put forth) and knowledge that can be gained by properly documenting this treasure trove...

Anyone familar w/ colleges that teach Botanical curriculums that might be interested in using this property as a course study? I wnt to IA State, and recall they did that. Had the class go out to diffrent farms and study, document and recomend treatments... Recently had this idea... any thoughts? Not sure what would be the correct curriculum to ask about.
Thanks to all.

Matt

Im think8ng a scout troop would be useful in the dig for their badges

@HU-387469168, you do realize this is a 16 year old thread? Just a bit late for any helpful advice.

I realized that but kept going with the hope there’d be a photo or at least a happy outcome posted.