Okay, I like the guy in the second link--he is stronger than the rest of us.
"By letting the irises dry out, we have less chance of getting rot. Even
better, if one has the time, planting the irises in pots with a very light
compost type soil for a couple of months and watering heavy works even
better. Then the iris are planted in the garden...
I am already an indentured
servant of irises and refuse to become a slave...so I don't do this, even
though I know my losses will be reduced. I just let them dry out spread out
on newspapers in my Florida room. I have some losses, but far fewer than if
I did not dry them out." Clarence Mahan in VA