Hello again, Jeri. . . hope you'll not give up on growing irises entirely; they are really rewarding to cultivate. This is the ideal time to plant them, if you're game to try again. It might be that the ones that gave up the ghost simply didn't have enough sun or were located in a part of your garden that's too humid. If you have lots of clay in your garden soil, you might want to try and plant them on " hills " so they're well drained, as too much humidity tends to rot the rhizomes. Other than fertilising them twice a year (July/March, with an NPK of either 6-8-12, 7-5-12 or 4-6-10, for example strawberry fertiliser) and watering them every 10 –15 days during dry spells, they don't really require too much care. Some of the varieties that I have do seem to nearly disappear after they've bloomed, haven't a clue why. Good luck.Cheers,
Aux