Getting My Irises in a few days

I will be getting my irises in a few days and would like to know how long I can hold them before planting them?

Can you mulch them? will they rut if you do? Do they like acidity soil?

Iris prefer a flat neutral soil; 7.0 in a perfect world.
Don't mulch them, it holds the moisture.
They'll keep for a bit, don't soak them.

How about zone 6a?? I have a bed which really needs to be dug, divided & replanted and am just running out of time...can I replant toward the end of next week?????Thank you, Deb

I'm still working on planting and re-planting. As long as they have time to get their roots going before the ground freezes thru, they should be alright. My experience is that the newest, priciest cultivar will give up the soonest.
I'll probably lay pine boughs over the newbies, I thnk it is the freeze/thaw cycle that does them in. But I'll wait until the ground is hard, but sometime before our 300 inches of snow shows up.

I always mulch my iris's....thank you for the help...Deb