Welcome to the ninth 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.

 

March 15th is the next date you need to know! 

For the AIS National Convention in Dallas April 5-10, that is when registration rates increase and when special room registration rates can no longer be guaranteed.  See details and any last minute changes here.  Read more about it in the Jan/Feb Irises beginning on p 22.  Note you should RSVP for the 15th Annual Geek Dinner by April 2nd to Joanne Prass-Jones at joanne@usjoneses.com.

And for the Society for Louisiana Irises Annual Convention in New Orleans April 3-5, March 15th is when they should receive this registration form.  Details about the Convention start here.

 

The SIGNA Seed Exchange is still underway!  It runs through mid-March, so the deadline if about the same as the next one for the Conventions.  You can read about it here and place your order online from this list (which they keep updated).

This is a great way to try some new irises.  Including ones never seen before!

 

The first AIS Virtual International Iris Show is underway.  And after hearing from iris lovers in the coldest climates, the entry deadline has been extended to July 31st.  Learn all about this virtual iris show on the Iris Encyclopedia beginning here.

Entries for the show have begun to arrive.  You can see them as they are included in the various classes.  Right now you can go to the Reticulatas Table and the Other Iridaceae Table to see entries.

 

AIS President Jim Morris described many of the actions taken at the November New Orleans Board of Directors Meeting in his President's Patch (p 6 Jan/Feb Irises).  Did you know the complete minutes are available on the AIS website?  You can see the New Orleans minutes here.  And past minutes are also available with links  from this page.

 

 

I'm beginning to suspect that all I need to do to identify my noids is get a good picture and make a jigsaw puzzle from it.  I again received some great suggestions for last month's puzzle (if you missed it, you can play here).  The best, from looking at the Iris Encyclopedia pictures, appears to be 'Triple Whammy'.  Interestingly, although it probably shouldn't have surprised me, another likely suggestion was a 'Triple Whammy' descendant, 'Blue-Eyed Susan'.
 
This month's puzzle is a seminoid; I think I know what it is from checking against a list of what I had before moving.  But, since some of them began as noids, that's not definitive and I'd appreciate your suggestions to wrmesser@gmail.com.  This month's puzzle is here.  And I believe it is a TB.