The American Iris Society 
News & Notes
January 2 2014
In This Issue
Seed Exchanges and Upcoming Deadlines
"Happy New Year" Iris
New Digital Programs
Registering Your Iris Show
It's All Dutch to Me
What Irisarians Are Looking At
Yes We Have a Jigsaw Puzzle
Seed Exchanges
 and Upcoming
 Deadlines

One way of growing irises you have never seen before, and maybe no one has!, is by purchasing seeds in a seed exchange.  Jim Murrain in the World of Irises blog shows examples in SIGNA Seed Exchange Siberians and an earlier post on Crested Irises (I. tectorum).

This is the season for two seed exchanges, SIGNA and Pacific Coast Irises.  Both enable you to become a member at the same time you order seeds (only members can participate in seed exchanges) so you also receive the other benefits of membership as a bonus!

The Pacific Coast Irises deadline for ordering is January 31, 2014.  The order form 2013-2014  is here and the details can be found here.  The Society for Pacific Coast Native Iris website has many resources to assist you with the irises.
 
SIGNA's seed exchange begins shortly with the list going out to members and then appearing on the SIGNA Seed Exchange page a few days later.  They have lots of useful information such as Germinating Seeds that will be helpful.  Also note that the Past Seeds List page has lists showing what they had previously.  Go down that page to see which seeds are still available!
Quick Links
 
 
 
 
 
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 Welcome to the New Year with  the first 2014 issue of the AIS News & Notes.  Please let us know what you would like to see here.  And if you have notes you would like to add, or you would like to become a reporter, please let us know!  You can contact either Bob Pries or Wayne Messer with your comments or interest.
 
"Happy New Year" Iris
 
No matter what the occasion, there is an iris name to go with it.  For the new year, the Iris Encyclopedia has at least four appropriate irises:  'New Year', 'Chinese New Year', 'Happy New Year', and 'Happy Chinese New Year'.  (As I recently learned, not too long ago we could not have had a Happy Chinese New Year; only three words were permitted in names.)

For Christmas there are even more choices.  We have some 22 to choose from.  You can see all the names in the Iris wiki search shown here.

And up next will be 'Kwanzaa'.  Enjoy all the iris holidays!
New Digital Programs
 
The AIS has a number of Presentations Slides and Digital Programs that you can use for your Club Meetings.  You can learn more about them here.  Be sure to follow the link on that page to the list of programs available.  (Here is the link to the current list; but the link may changes as the list is updated.)

Two new programs that have not made it onto that list were announced in a World of Iris posting New Digital Programs for LA and Spuria Lovers.  Note that the 2013 Spuria Digital Program is currently directly available through the Spuria Iris Society website here.  Both should be great ways to add new types of irises to those you enjoy growing!
Registering Your Iris Show

 

It's time to be thinking about iris shows again.  Some notes and updates for you.  

 

Send your show schedules for approval to Lois Rose at least two months prior to your show date.  Lois prefers email (irisgal@hotmail.com).  so she can send the approval/evaluation form, Show Supplies Order Form, and Show Report Form in electronic format.  Schedules can be in Word (any version) or PDF.  Please include a cover note with your snail-mail address as the official approval and show certificates come back to you via U.S.P.S.  Travel February 16 through March 4, means no shows will be approved during that time.  She will deal with the inevitable backlog of schedules in the order in which they were sent (for e-mail) or postmarked (for snail-mail), so submit your schedule in plenty of time, especially if you have an April show,

 

Shipping and handling for show supplies will increase to $13.00 in 2014.

With the AIS National Convention from April 5-10, make sure your supplies for any mid-to-late April shows are ordered in plenty of time.

 

It's All Dutch to Me
 
Bulbous iris that is.  Which represent the most undeveloped area of irises in the Irises Encyclopedia. 

Partly this is because AIS is not the registrar for bulbous iris.  The Royal General Bulb Growers' Association (KAVB) is responsible for bulbous iris among others.  See their English language page for further information.  You can find pictures of bulbous iris even if most of the information is in Dutch.  Searching iris on their site pulled up a number of items including this 2013  document which Google Translate says is "The most beautiful Iris Show of the Year".


Find out more about bulbous iris at this Iris wiki page.  And please help us fill in this area!
What Irisarians Are Looking At
 
With the end of the year, we hear summaries of what has occurred in the last year.  I thought it might be of interest to show what have been our most popular links, especially since some of you may have missed the earliest News & Notes.

No question what was the most popular - the Special Edition announcing the AIS Medal Winners had a link to the list (including runner-ups, AMs, and HMs) and the list had links to their pictures on the Iris Encyclopedia.  Here is the list.  And the iris cultivar link most followed was from the same issue, the Dykes Medal winner 'That's All Folks'.  The most popular World of Irises blog postings were the series about the individual winners beginning with the Dykes Medal and continuing from there.

The most popular link to the AIS website was to learn about voting in the Tall Bearded Symposium (voting is over and results will be available later).  You can still follow this link to see which TBs were eligible and results from 2007-2012.  The next most popular AIS website link was the Photo Contest Winners slideshow.

Videos have also been popular.  The most visited was introducing our new Irises editor, Kathleen Sonntag.  You can still see her video here.

And I probably don't have to tell you, iris jigsaw puzzles have been popular.  So we have another one in this issue.

Thank you for your interest and help.  We hope you continue to enjoy the links.  And let us know what you would like to see.
Yes We Have a Jigsaw Puzzle
 
I suspect this is where many of you head first.  So here is this month's jigsaw puzzle.  Taken on a trip to Berea, Kentucky last May.  I know the iris is Kentucky's State Flower.  And there seemed to be irises everywhere.

Bonus points for naming the cultivar!  Full disclosure:  I do not know the name; there were no tags that I could see.  But I would like to so I can plant some.  Suggested answers to wrmesser@gmail.com.  Thanks for your help!
Become an Emember
 
If you are already a member, you might consider adding an American Iris Society Emembership.  This is a way for you to show additional support for AIS.  For just $15 a year, in addition to your regular membership charge, you have online access to Irises, including all the back issues of it and the AIS Bulletin, the Registration & Introductions database, and you help to support our online initiatives!  Find out more here.  And you will qualify for the AIS Voucher Program described in earlier issues.