The American Iris Society Announces the 2025 Wister Medal Winners

 'DARK UNIVERSE' - 'MARRY THE NIGHT' -

'GHIRARDELLI SQUARE'

The Wister Medal is restricted to tall bearded (TB) irises. It is named in honor of John C. Wister (1887-1982). Three medals are awarded each year. Previous awards winners can be found at https://wiki.irises.org/Main/InfoAwards.

John C. Wister led the organizing meeting that created the American Iris Society and became its first president, a position he held for 14. He guided the Society through its formative years. He was widely recognized as a man of rare management skills, leadership ability, and the highest ethical standards. R. S. Sturtevant wrote of him: "Probably few current members realize that the AIS started through the efforts and initiative of one man, John C. Wister...."

Tall bearded iris 'DARK UNIVERSE'

Photo by Christine Cosi

'Dark Universe' (Keith Keppel, R. 2018). Seedling 05-69C. TB, 35" (89 cm). Early bloom. Standards concord (M&P 45-K-12), very faint paler venation toward edge, ¹⁄₁₆˝ blue-white edge; style arms blue-white to wisteria violet (41-E-8); falls velvety concord, minute blue white edge, white area beside beard, fine speckled transitional area, haft with faint yellow edge deep in throat; beard hairs based white, chrome yellow (9-L-7) tips in throat, tips lemon-yellow (9-L-2) at end; luminata. Seedling 00-56D: (seedling 97-86B: ('Fancy Dress' x 'New Leaf') x 'Moonlit Water') X seedling 02-106A, 'Belle Fille' pollen parent. Introduced by Keith Keppel Iris in 2019.

Tall bearded iris 'MARRY THE NIGHT'

photo by Jeanette Graham

'Marry The Night' (Thomas Johnson, R. 2017). Seedling# TF77D. TB, 32" (81 cm). Early bloom. Standards near solid very dark purple; style arms dark purple; falls pristine white, precise dark purple band; beards orange, purple at the very end; sweet fragrance. 'Locomotion' sibling. Introduced by Mid-America Gardens in 2017. 

Tall bearded iris 'GHIRARDELLI SQUARE'
photo by Jeanette Graham

'Ghirardelli Square' (Keith Keppel, R. 2015). Seedling# 09-88B. TB, 38" (97 cm). Early midseason bloom. Standards blended brazil brown (M&P 8-L-8) and horsechestnut (8-J-5); style arms brazil brown to raw umber (7-L-12), wax yellow (11-L-4) on arms; falls white (9-AB-1), ³⁄₈˝ purple-chocolate (darker than 56-L-8) solid plicata edge, some speckling extending inward, short dark veins beside beard; beards mustard-tan, hairs based lavender. Seedling# 02-92A: ('Inside Trac' x 'Spice Lord') X 'Reckless Abandon'. Introduced by Keith Keppel Iris in 2016.

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.