American Iris Society – AIS Region 21 (2024)

The American Iris Society has begun requiring digital images with your submission of iris registrations. To help you, Neil Houghton, the Image Coordinator, has put together a process and a quick guide to make it easier for you. You .can find all the details inSubmitting Digital Images with Registrations (PDF).

Neil would be glad to answer any questions, email images@irises.org .

Region 21’s own Gary White was elected AIS president at the Board of Directors meeting in Omaha. A number of Lincoln Iris Society and Region members were there to help celebrate his election and installation. Congratulations to Gary and thank you for your service.

Some photos from the festivities. Jim Morris and Gary. Gary and Linda Wilkie. Gary and Ron Crampton who made the centerpiece shown in the last photo. It was made from irises reblooming at the time.

Thank you to the Greater Omaha Iris Society and Linda Wilkie for organizing and hosting this outstanding meeting.

The Iris Encyclopedia is a great source for learning more about specific irises you already have or know you are interested in. It currently has, as of December 26, 52,663 cultivars and 36,348 images. This represents 75% of the registered iris cultivars.

You can also use the Iris Encyclopedia to find irises of interest you don’t yet know about!

One approach is to look at the award winning irises. The Iris Encyclopedia has an Awards page that lists the various Medals and Cups that irises can win. Most of the major American Medals on this page already direct you to pages with pictures of the irises that have won that Medal. For example, the American Dykes Medal shows all the winners from its inception in 1927 to the present. The Awards page also has links to winners, and runners up, by year. The Awards 2011 page shows or lists these for the most recent year.

You can also find unusual irises by looking at the Novelty Iris page. These are irises that have properties differing from the mainstream, or did when they were first introduced. These are those currently with pages:

• Novelty Iris;
  • Broken Color
  • Creped Flowers
  • Extrapetaled Flowers
  • Flat Flowers
  • Flounced or Spooned Iris
  • Giants
  • Golden Foliage
  • Horned Iris
  • Laced Flowers
  • Magnolia Flowered
  • Purple Based Foliage
  • Purple Stems or Bracts
  • Variegated Foliage;

A reminder – all of the Iris Encyclopedia is a work in progress. For some of these pages, the iris names are not yet linked. You can help by registering so you can add such links. Also, your observations on specific irises performance can help improve the Iris Encyclopedia.

The American Iris Society has several types of websites with great information on irises! I’m aware of four that you should check.

• The main website for learning about The American Iris Society has the Society information and links to the other parts. Whether you are a new iris lover, a potential member, a new member, or a long-time member, this can direct you to helpful information.
• The Iris Encyclopedia is a work in progress that you can help with! The largest portion will have all the irises registered by AIS. Right now it has 75% entered, the majority with one or more photos. Other topics include iris people, iris shows, awards, and cultivation. It is a wiki that you can edit (think Wikipedia) and add your observations to.
• The World of Iris is a blog covering iris topics. Several authors cover iris news and people, both recent and historic, with lots of great pictures.
• There is also a Facebook page for The American Iris Society. It has pointers to some of the items on the other sites as well as iris pictures to enjoy. Facebook members can also add their comments.

This time of year, when, at least in Region 21, we are unable to garden, is a great time to check these out.

Upcoming meetings include the 2013 and the 2014 AIS Conventions – both in Dallas. At the Region 21 Fall 2012 meeting, Dell Perry, one of our speakers, described the gardens convention goers will be able to visit in 2013. Dates for the 2013 Convention are April 15 – 20. See also the AIS 2013 Convention page for additional details. This is immediately followed (April 21 – 23) by the Society for Louisiana Irises 2013 National Convention at the same location. The Iris Society of Dallas is hosting all three of these meetings.

Locations for the upcoming Region 21 meetings are:

• Spring 2013 – Sioux City, Iowa
• Fall 2013 – Omaha, Nebraska
• Spring 2014 – Lincoln, Nebraska

Dates and further details to follow.