I only water new rhizomes, The established ones are good to go.

Patrick - since yours are all recently planted, I would water them. It will encourage root growth before it gets cold.

Thanks, Leslie: I've been watering pretty much on a daily basis. I'm seeing a lot of new growth on some rhizomes, and very little on others. The weather here has been Sunny and Hot for the past
few weeks, so I'm trying to be diligent with watering. I'm also battling an insect problem that is
nibbling on the rhizomes. I've found about 6-9 rhizomes that have 'chunks' taken out of the rhizomes. So I'm handling that issue separately. Thanks for your reply.

irisarian said:Some irises put their increases out in the fall & some in the spring. then there is the Chapman iris 'Eternal Summer' which he says blooms spring, summer & fall. I have just not had the space to order that one.

I got his Forever Blue, but not that one. Aphylla is supposed to be rare. I can't even find one on eBay. The closest I found looks like an I. germanica mix and is from Israel.

Patrick, how often you water depends on where you live and the type of soil you have. As long as you have good drainage watering every day or two is probably fine (for the newly planted irises). You don't want the soil to remain soggy wet, but slightly damp is good for growing tender roots (IMHO).

My soil is sand and we live in a semi-arid (read: semi desert ) area so in the really hot weather my established irises need water once a week and the babies (which I have in pots) need water every day or two. If I had different soil I would not have to water so often.

I have to agree with that.

Try the irises sales for aphylla. Aitkens sell a named one from the Markhams.

Moiris said:Patrick, how often you water depends on where you live and the type of soil you have. As long as you have good drainage watering every day or two is probably fine (for the newly planted irises). You don't want the soil to remain soggy wet, but slightly damp is good for growing tender roots (IMHO).

My soil is sand and we live in a semi-arid (read: semi desert ) area so in the really hot weather my established irises need water once a week and the babies (which I have in pots) need water every day or two. If I had different soil I would not have to water so often.

I mentioned earlier that I live in Southern New Jersey, so my soil is Sandy soil. It drains quickly and thoroughly, and dries fast. So I water more frequently. All of my Iris were initially potted up
for weeks before they were transplanted into the garden, so their root systems were quite extensive.