The American Iris Society Announces the 2026 American Dykes Medal Winner

'ALABAMA BLUE FIN'

First awarded in 1927, the American Dykes Medal is the highest award of the American Iris Society (AIS). It is named for William Rickatson Dykes (1877-1925) and is awarded to no more than one iris per year. Irises are eligible as a Dykes Medal candidate for three years following the winning of a classification medal. Only AIS-accredited judges may vote. Previous awards winners can be found at https://wiki.irises.org/Main/InfoAwards.

Inter-species hybrid iris 'Alabama Blue Fin'
photo by Judy Schneider

'Alabama Blue Fin' - (Jill Copeland, R. 2016) Seedling Y-4. SPEC-X (pseudata), 38" (97 cm), Late midseason bloom. Standards cream-white; style arms edged light yellow, midrib darker, tips mid yellow; falls very light yellow washed violet, heart shaped signal violet-blue in throat blending to yellow to the center of petal then edged by violet-blue band with short sharp pointed lines into petal. Seedling GXS-2: ('Gubijin' x 'Sushi') X 'Christina’s Sister'. Introduced by Ensata Gardens in 2017.

The World of Irises blog will be posting classification medal winners as soon as the hybridizers are notified. The entire list of winners, including Award of Merit and Honorable Mention, will be published on the AIS website, the AIS Encyclopedia, and later in the AIS Bulletin, IRISES.