The American Iris Society Announces the 2022 Sass Medal Winner

'APPLE CRISP'

The Sass Medal is restricted to intermediate bearded (IB) irises. It is named in honor of Hans Sass (1868-1949) and Jacob Sass (1872-1945). They bred irises, peonies, daylilies, lilacs, gladiolus, lilies and other garden plants. When they became charter members of the AIS, they had been breeding irises
for more than a decade. Their irises were famous for being strong growers because they used 'Amas' and I. trojana as tetraploid stud irises instead of the tender I. mesopotamica and I. cypriana.

Previous awards winners can be found at https://wiki.irises.org/Main/InfoAwards.

'APPLE CRISP'

photo by Jeanette Graham

'Apple Crisp' (Paul Black, R. 2013) Seedling #R202B. IB, 26" (66 cm), Midseason to late bloom. Standards mid gold, mid garnet wash over center, yellow-gold rim; style arms mid gold; falls mid gold, mid brown-tan veins/wash beside beards, mid yellow patch below beard, remainder heavily washed garnet in center and lighter towards mid yellow rim; beards gold; pronounced spicy fragrance. Seedling M18A: ('High Master' x seedling J212A: ('Key To Success' selfed)) X 'Love Spell'. Introduced by Mid-America Garden 2014.

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. 

The American Iris Society Announces the 2021 Sass Medal Winners

'BACKLIT BEAUTY' and 'CODE OF HONOR'

The Sass Medal is restricted to intermediate bearded (IB) irises. It is named in honor of Hans Sass

(1868-1949) and Jacob Sass (1872-1945). They bred irises, peonies, daylilies, lilacs, gladiolus, lilies and other garden plants. When they became charter members of the AIS, they had been breeding irises

for more than a decade. Their irises were famous for being strong growers because they used 'Amas' and I. trojana as tetraploid stud irises instead of the tender I. mesopotamia and I. cypriana.

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.

BACKLIT BEAUTY--image by Richard Tasco

'Backlit Beauty' (Richard Tasco, R. 2010) Seedling #01-IB-49-01. IB, 25" (64 cm), Late midseason bloom. Standards rosy spectrum violet (RHS 82B) lightly veined white, color blends out to white edges and side bottoms; style arms white, slight lilac blush near midribs; falls darker bishops violet (81A) lightening toward edges, lightly veined around beards to shoulders, bright canary yellow at top of petal; beards white base tipped tangerine in throat and middle, canary yellow at end; lightly ruffled, luminata; slight fragrance. 'Spirit World' X 'Iced Wine'. Superstition 2010.

CODE OF HONOR--image by Mid-America

'Code Of Honor' (Thomas Johnson, R. 2013). Seedling #TB91A. IB, 25" (64 cm), Midseason bloom. Icy blue-white self; beards medium blue; slight fragrance. 'Bluebeard's Ghost' X 'Mythology'. Mid-America 2013.

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.

Iris Classics: "Pretty Pansy"

By Mike Unser

From a cross of the lovely historic iris 'Bertha Gersdorff' by the classic 'Moonlit Sea' we were blessed with a new variety in the now-termed 'luminata' pattern: 'Pretty Pansy', a wonderful introduction from the Sass Bros. in 1946. They had often followed breeding lines where this rare and recessive pattern appeared so it was no surprise that this lovely flower would make a big splash in the iris world.

It was described in the Iris Test Gardens catalog for 1954 as:

" 'A purple and white of Moonlit Sea coloring without the yellow. 36 inch stems.' Our comment: 'Here is a knockout, different from anything we have seen, will attract attention anywhere. A fine thing.'"

A fine thing, indeed. The white heart combined with the fresh purple wash makes the entire bloom glow from within - grabbing the eye and pulling the viewer in. This pattern has often been followed and today has been expanded to many other color classes, but it all started back in the '40's when the Sass Brothers pursued their vision of what irises could be.

'Pretty Pansy' is an excellent grower and is easily found. Consider adding it to your garden. You won't be sorry.