Why Do They Fall Over?

This is "Shaft of Gold". I've had some trouble this year with the flower stalks falling over. What causes that? Are they trying to get more sun?

mine have done that and i think they are top heavy from blooms. i have had to stake a few of mine.

mine have had such big blooms this year. i guess all the rain.

some become top heavy I have had to stake a few of mine.

Some cultivars are prolific bloomers and the stems just can't keep them up, or they're really tall. My 'Conjuration are over 48" and bloom like crazy and always need to be staked. Sometimes they are cultivars that just don't have strong enough stems and sometimes with new Iris, the entire fan will fall over, especially if there has been a lot of wet weather. Rain can make iris stalks fall and so can wind. The other thing that often happens is that they are in some shade and in the process of leaning for light they fall over from weight. But in your case, this looks like an established clump where the entire rhizome including the fan has fallen. All of the fans are leaning out from the center. My best guess is that they need to be divided.

I try to take a walk around the garden once a day and stake any Iris that look like they are going to fall. This is not your problem, but unless an Iris is very special, I'm likely to ship out one that isn't strong. Your's are great and I think will be fine after you divide them in the fall.

This is an interesting question.