The American Iris Society Announces the 2021 Caparne-Welch Medal Winners

 'ELF ESTEEM' and 'FAIRY FIREFLY'

The Caparne-Welch Medal is restricted to miniature dwarf bearded (MDB) irises. It is named in honor of William John Caparne (1855-1940) and WalterWelch (1887-1980). Caparne worked extensively breeding various dwarf iris species and was the first iris hybridizer to concentrate on smaller irises. Most of the dwarf iris cultivars grown in gardens in the first quarter of the 20th century were products of Caparne's hybridizing efforts. Walter Welch was the founder of the Dwarf Iris Society. After moving to Middlebury, Indiana, he met Paul Cook and began hybridizing irises. He shared Cook's enthusiasm for dwarf irises, and set out to develop new forms for the garden.

Editor’s Note: Due to the pandemic last year, the American Iris Society Board of Directors suspended garden awards. As a result, and for only this year, two medals will be award in this area. Previous awards winners can be found at https://wiki.irises.org/Main/InfoAwards.

‘Elf Esteem’

'Elf Esteem' (Paul Black, R. 2015) Seedling S259A. MDB, 7.5" (19 cm). Midseason to late bloom and rebloom. Standards green-white fading to white; style arms white, mid violet in heart; Falls white, dark burgundy spot bisected by white wedge stripe from beard to edge, white rays over haft surrounded by olive-brown veins; beards mid lavender; slight sweet fragrance. Seedling 0262CR, 'It’s Not Over' pollen parent, X 'Replicator'. 2015 Mid-America.

‘Fairy Firefly’

'Fairy Firefly' (Terry Aitken, R. 2016) Seedling 05M7D. MDB, 5" (13 cm), Midseason bloom. Standards brilliant orange crush orange; style arms brilliant orange; falls brilliant orange, red-orange spot, orange zonal spot at hafts; beards brilliant orange. 'Hot Coals' sibling. Salmon Creek 2015.

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 in the AIS website, the AIS Encyclopedia, and later in the AIS Bulletin, IRISES.

The American Iris Society Announces the 2021 Cook-Douglas Medal Winners

'STOP AND STARE' and 'PORTLAND PINK'

 The Cook-Douglass Medal is restricted to standard dwarf bearded (SDB) irises. It is named in honor of Paul Cook (1891-1963) and Geddes Douglas (1902-1993). Paul Cook's work with dwarf irises was truly pioneering. His early breeding of dwarf irises led to a series of I. arenaria hybrids, the most notable being 'Keepsake,' 'Tampa,' and 'Promise.' He was the first to use the true I. pumila in his breeding programs, and this resulted in the introduction of the first of the great stud irises in the standard dwarf class: 'Baria,' 'Fairy Flax,' and 'Green Spot.'

Geddes Douglas was born in Nashville, Tennessee in 1902. Douglas was a chemist and businessman. In the early 1950's, he founded the Geddes Douglas Garden Center in Nashville. He became a leader in the Tennessee Nurserymen's Association, and served a term as president of the Southern Nursery Association.

Editor’s Note: Due to the pandemic last year, the American Iris Society Board of Directors suspended garden awards. As a result, and for only this year, two medals will be award in this area. Previous awards winners can be found at https://wiki.irises.org/Main/InfoAwards. 

STOP AND STARE (Thomas Johnson)

'Stop And Stare' (Thomas Johnson, R. 2014) Seedling# TD258A. SDB, 13" (33 cm), Early bloom. Standards white, lemon tints, slight gold halo that fades with age; style arms white; falls large black spot with wide white band, small white dart below beard; beards yellow-orange, tipped white; slight fragrance. 'Capiche' X 'Riveting'. Mid-America 2014.

PORTLAND PINK (Paul Black)

'Portland Pink' (Paul Black, R. 2015) Seedling# T234A. SDB, 15" (38 cm), Late to very late bloom. Standards mid pink; style arms mid-dark pink; falls mid peach-pink, darker haft and line from beard ½ way down petal, green-tan textured veins; beards dark tangerine-pink; slight spicy fragrance. 'Shorty' X seedling# R203A: (seedling# M166A, Inspired sibling x 'Love Spell'. 2015 Mid-America.

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 in the AIS website, the AIS Encyclopedia, and later in the AIS Bulletin, IRISES.

Growing Irises Out East: Meeting Up in Raleigh

 by Heather Grace and Alleah Barnes Haley

Alleah Haley and daughter Heather discussing irises at the 2021 Region 4 Spring Meeting.
Bee Happy Farm, Creedmoor, North Carolina

Last month Alleah, daughter Heather, and son-in-law Chris met up with about 40 other members of the American Iris Society (AIS) in Raleigh, North Carolina. In 2020 our local iris club, the Eastern North Carolina Iris Society, postponed hosting the AIS Region 4 Spring Meeting due to COVID, so we were eager to make it happen in 2021… if this could be done safely. Orchestrating this regional meeting required a BIG tour bus filled at half capacity for garden tours, BIG meeting rooms for social distancing, and collectively BIG hopes that our iris friends could and would attend.

Enjoying irises together AND apart
(foreground left to right) Bob Pries, garden co-owner Dean Richards, immediate past RVP Doug Chyz, and Anita Moran

When the time came, our hearts filled with joy. We met new members who joined AIS during the pandemic when we were unable to meet in person. Familiar faces appeared from our nearest North Carolina neighbor club, the Charlotte Iris Society. From Virginia we were joined by members from the Fredericksburg Area Iris Society, the Shenandoah and Potomac Iris Society, and the Central Virginia Iris Society. Coming from Maryland were members of the Francis Scott Key Iris Society. We even attracted out-of-region celebrities: Doug Chyz of South Carolina and AIS President Jody Nolan and her husband of Ohio.

Attending a regional meeting is always a delightful experience. In addition to connecting with other iris aficionados, the scenery is a feast for the eyes. On Thursday evening the talented Anita Moran presented a program on “How to Photograph Irises.” It was fairly technical and included advice on how to properly focus the camera on iris and avoid extraneous objects while photographing.  Alleah is now inspired to take a follow-up at the community college when in-person classes resume. She believes some skills are best learned in the classroom.

Anita Moran photographing irises

This meeting did not disappoint where learning was concerned. New member Matt Liner brought his first entries ever for an iris show, which joined those delicately transported from distant gardens. The over-100-specimen turnout was impressive considering that most entries were grown in other states. ENCIS members with gardens on tour kept their blooms at home for everyone to enjoy. Apprentice Judge Ingrid Bray received show bench judges’ training under accredited judges Anita Moran, Jody Nolan, and Sue Shackelford. Heather enjoyed punching entry tags to record judges’ awards and place ribbons as a clerk for the iris show. Clerking is a great opportunity to learn more about irises, and she got to spend quality time with expert facilitator Lois Rose who served as Show Chairman. 

Entering an iris show is a fun way to share blooms from your garden and learn other varieties you might like to grow.

In a banquet room nearby, Alleah moderated a panel discussion of AIS Region 4 judges Ray Jones, Ginny Spoon, and Carol Warner on ethics of judging irises. This topic is one Alleah is passionate about. She has always been particular about following guidelines and doing things right---this applies equally to all aspects of her life. A key message was that judges are the backbone of AIS because they personify its mission and goals. The panel discussion concluded with a 15-question test. No worries. It was “open-book, open notes” which relieved the audience’s anxiety. 

After lunch, it was time for more learning! Carol Warner gave training on AIS Awards and Honors. This topic is a requirement for Apprentice Judges to be eligible for accreditation, and many were pleased to add it to their lists of completed training. When the two-hour session concluded, Heather decided it was time for a nap. Alleah and Chris stayed strong and attended the regional plant auction. They bid on many wonderful irises, herbs, shrubs, and succulents donated by members of the region. Chris got outbid by Jody Nolan on a beautiful historic Iris japonica 'Aphrodite’ with variegated foliage. Jody gave a piece of her new specimen to Chris, and it will be a plant with a story our family will treasure for many years to come. Iris friends are really the best type of friends a gardener could ask for. They instinctively share GREAT PLANTS!

 

Chris’ rhizome of Iris japonica ‘Aphrodite’ will spend a few years increasing in a pot so he can keep an eye on it.

Saturday brought more opportunities to learn, albeit away from classroom walls. At the first host garden, participants had their pick of four in-garden judges’ training sessions; and the trio of attendees from our family - Alleah, Heather, and Chris - trotted like ducklings behind instructor Anita Moran to a distant bed of medians (small types of irises). This was Chris’ first regional and first opportunity to experience in-garden training. After clear, concise, expert instruction from Anita, Chris set about evaluating an iris. He seemed to enjoy the exercise, and it was fun to hear another family member critique and praise iris features.

Reblooming iris ‘Peggy Sue’ (Lauer 2006) does well in our gardens, and formed impressive clumps for Diana Dudley and Dean Richards. 

It is important to see an iris growing and to know what attributes make irises a prized garden perennial. To the novice, all irises are equally worthy candidates for the home garden. However, for the trained eye, critical merits and faults can be discerned. Some lack pleasing proportions, whereas others have flowers and leaves that match their height. Colors catch the eye from a distance and beards contribute pizzazz. The petals can be pinched (a fault) or have forms that twist (ditto). In the garden, it becomes obvious which irises have good substance and are able to withstand adverse weather conditions without losing their stuff.

Intermediate Bearded iris ‘Concertina’ (G. Sutton 2000) bloomed wonderfully for our family this year, and was doing the same for Mary and Don Myers. 

Clues about floriferousness are present from "bud count" (the number of spent blooms, open blooms, and buds that have not opened yet). Comparing foliage and plants can reveal which cultivars have a good green color, are disease resistant, and will avoid bloom out. It is impossible to gauge these attributes from a photograph. They must be evaluated in a garden, and it helps to understand what you are looking at.

Susan Miller invited attendees to offer suggestions that could help her identify a historic iris she received from her grandfather.  

When an iris does well in multiple gardens, it stands out in your memory.  Each visit is like seeing an old friend you have dearly missed. It was a joy to tour gardens of ENCIS members Diana Dudley and Dean Richards, Mary and Don Myers, Susan and Glenn Grigg, and Susan and Pete Miller. Each host welcomed the bus with enthusiasm, and shared quirks that make their gardens unique. Visitors took careful notes, and gardens will be described fully in a future issue of our regional newsletter, The Newscast.  

Host gardens identified irises introduced by a Region 4 hybridizer with white flags. ‘Cobra’s Eye’ (D. Spoon 2000) received the most votes on attendee ballots and received the regional D. C. Nearpass Award.

Bus captains Heather and Chris encouraged attendees to designate their favorite blooms on ballots, and regional award winners were announced during a banquet later in the evening. Guest speaker Jody Nolan shared short programs “Why You Should Grow Species Iris” and “How AIS Works.”  A key takeaway was that our directors wear many hats, and volunteers can apply their interests and skills to benefit everyone. This rallying cry inspired the technologically-inclined Heather to join AIS Social Media team. She wants to share the love of irises with gardeners who aren’t familiar with AIS yet, but might want to join and learn more.

Irises introduced by hybridizers outside Region 4 were also eligible for awards. ‘Wishful Thinking’ (Keppel 1996) received the most votes and won the regional B. Y. Morrison Award.

Alleah is already making plans to gather her descendants at the next national convention. Perhaps we should invite the iris-loving cousins too. We loved getting out of the house for a meetup in Raleigh, and can’t wait for the next opportunity to spend time with our iris family, new members, and old friends. 

Photo Credits:

Chris Broberg: Alleah Haley and Heather, Enjoying Irises, Anita Moran; 

Nadya Pysmenna: Entering an iris show

Heather Haley: ‘Aphrodite’, ‘Peggy Sue’, ‘Concertina’, Susan Miller historic, ‘Cobra’s Eye’, ‘Wishful Thinking’

For comments:

What do you enjoy doing with members of your region and local iris club? 

Why grow reblooming median irises?

By Hooker Nichols

This past spring here in north Texas was very cool and rainy. Our median bloom was about three weeks early beginning in early March.  All four of the median classes were well represented and the season was very long.  Our season for bearded and beardless bloom ended before the last week of April.

 

Donald Spoon's reblooming 'Alberta Peach'

Around May 20^th, we noticed that many of the median irises with reblooming traits were sending up more stalks and consequently several of the clumps put on a better show than four to five weeks previously.  The once blooming medians did not put up hardly any repeat stalks.

Hooker Nichol's reblooming Border Bearded 'Lenora Pearl'

Mike Sutton's reblooming IB 'Mulligan'

Those medians from the East and West coasts put on equal performances.  Several medians with reblooming tendencies introduced from Canada were well represented too.  Iris growers should check the Reblooming Iris Society annual symposium results to see with reblooming medians perform best in their particular areas.

Chuck Chapman's reblooming SDB 'Autumn Jester'

It should be noted that we had heavily fertilized our irises last fall and this spring. 

Terry Aitken's reblooming IB 'August Treat'

2019 Cook-Douglas Medal Winner

 The American Iris Society

Announces the

2019 Cook-Douglas Medal Winner

‘Raspberry Ice’

'Raspberry Ice' (Keith Keppel, R. 2011) Seedling# 05-20F. SDB, 15" (38 cm), Midseason bloom. Standards buff rose (M&P 3-CD-8) shading to orchid (43-FG-7) toward base; style arms buff rose; falls apricot cream (9-B-4) ground, 3/8" blended buff rose and orchid band, shoulders peppered and veined darker greyed orchid (45-I-3); beards candy pink (2-H-10) and pale orchid (42-G-2) giving rusty coral effect. Seedling# 01-18C: (seedling# 99-24A, 'Arvo' sibling x seedling# 99-24H) X seedling #98-25N: ('Music' x 'Stormy Circle'). Keppel, 2012. HM 2014, AM 2016.

This medal is restricted to standard dwarf bearded (SDB) irises. It is named in honor of Paul Cook (1891-1963) and Geddes Douglas (1902-1993). Paul Cook's work with dwarf irises was truly pioneering. His early breeding of dwarf irises led to a series of I. arenaria hybrids. He was the first to use the true I. pumila in his breeding programs, and this resulted in the introduction of the first of the great stud irises in the standard dwarf class. Geddes Douglas was born in Nashville, Tennessee in 1902. Douglas's historically most important hybridizing achievements were with dwarf irises. Working with stock from Paul Cook, Douglas's crosses of I pumila with tall bearded irises created the race of irises that came to be known as 'lilliputs.'

The World of Irises blog will be posting once a day all of the medal winners. The entire list of winners can be found at the AIS website, the AIS Encyclopedia and later in the AIS Bulletin, IRISES.

2013 Hans and Jacob Sass Medal Winner "Rimaround"

By Renee Fraser

We are pleased to announce the winner of the 2013 Hans and Jacob Sass Medal, 

'Rimaround' hybridized by Terry Aitken of Washington!

'Rimaround' Aitken  Photo credit:  Aurora Borealis Iris Garden

Here is the description of this lovely Intermediate Bearded Iris from the AIS Wiki:

'Rimaround' (J. Terry Aitken, R. 2007) Sdlg. 00M20D. IB, 22" (56 cm), ML. S. white, heavy purple plicata stitching; style arms purple; F. white, very round, 3/16" purple plicata band; beards white tipped purple. 'Art Deco' X 'Fairy Ring'. Aitken 2007. Honorable Mention 2009; Award of Merit 2011.

In 1966 The American Iris Society awarded the first Hans and Jacob Sass Medal. This medal is restricted to intermediate bearded (IB) irises. The IBs are 16-27” tall with flowers that are 3½"-5" wide. The IBs fit both in size and bloom time between the SDBs and the TBs. The Hans and Jacob Sass Medals are provided by the Median Iris Society and named in honor of Hans Sass (1868-1949) and Jacob Sass (1872-1945).

For more information about median irises in general and Intermediate Bearded Irises in particular, visit the Median Iris Society Website.