The American Iris Society 
News & Notes
May 9 2016
In This Issue
FINAL THOUGHTS ABOUT THE 2016 AIS CONVENTION
2016 Convention Beds
2016 Convention Boutique
HIPS Rhizome Sale
2016 AIS Photo Contest Underway
Spring 2016 Irises Bulletin Available
Tiny Tales - Dwarf Iris Society Electronic Newsletter
Purple Based Foliage HIPS Project
Don't Be Afraid of the Iris
A Sassy Jigsaw Puzzle
FINAL THOUGHTS ABOUT THE 2016 AIS CONVENTION

As we are approaching the start of the 2016 AIS Convention in Newark, I would like to make you aware of some things.

We will be having a Boutique and we still need vendors and volunteers to help with it.  Please go to AIS 2016 Convention~Going East on the AIS Website and look under the Convention tab for more information and details.

I hope you are planning on attending the Geek Dinner at the 2016 Convention on Friday, May 27, 2016 

First of all, there is the reception style dinner for you to enjoy.

Then the real fun for the night... Sit down for the Geek Dinner Auction where you get to bid on new iris introductions, gift certificates from commercial iris growers, and iris themed items. The proceeds from the auction go directly into the American Iris Society Electronics Services fund that sponsors such things as the digital projector for slide shows, online AIS Bulletin archives, and other electronic services. Oh and of course some great door prizes.

So, make your plans for the, 17th annual Geek Dinner being held during the AIS 2016 Spring Convention. Meet new friends and catch up with old ones.

Reservations always fill up fast and unfortunately pre registration is necessary. PLEASE RSVP with your check and email address to Joanne Prass-Jones as soon as possible.

COST: $35.00 (not included in convention registration fee)
 
You must RSVP to Joanne Prass-Jones and send her your check.

Email: joanne@usjoneses.com Phone: (510) 795 9723

Make check payable to: Joanne Prass-Jones

Mailing address:
35572 Linda Dr           Fremont, CA 94536

(Please include your email address on your check so that Joanne can acknowledge your reservation) Also, if you have items to donate to the auction, please let John Jones know at: jijones@usjoneses.com as soon as possible so we can prepare the auction.

When we tour Presby Memorial Iris Gardens on Thursday, May 26, 2016, there will be  In-The-Garden Judges Training and also a Photography presentation by Paul Black to show us all how to take good pictures of not only irises but, any type of a flower or plant.

Please go to the AIS 2016 Convention~Going East on the AIS Website for all of the details about the convention.

I am so excited about not only having attendees from the United States and Canada but also from Australia, New Zealand, and the Czech Republic.

I hope you Come to Newark and join us for an enjoyable, fun and wonderful convention.

See you soon in Newark.


Paul W. Gossett
2016 Convention Co-Chair


Quick Links
 
 
 
 
 

 

::

 Welcome to the 35th regular 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.
 
2016 Convention Beds
 
 
Presby Memorial Iris Gardens, the Carol & George Boyce Garden, and the George Hildenbrandt Garden are all awaiting your arrival for the 2016 AIS Convention.  Come see them.
2016 Convention Boutique
 
Click on the photo for a larger version.  Note that Jill Bonino has a new email address.  Contact her at jillbiris62@gmail.com.
 
HIPS Rhizome Sale
 
Can you help HIPS?  The Historic Iris Preservation Society would love to have your donated rhizomes to help make their annual rhizome sale a success.  This is HIPS' major fundraiser and the funds go toward iris preservation projects.  If you can send rhizomes, please email or mail a list of cultivars you can probably donate to the Rhizome Sale Chair, Judy Schneider hipsirissale@gmail.com. She needs your list by the middle of June. This will give us time to find links or photos of each iris, and have them ready for viewing when the sale starts. If you can't send a cultivar at dig time, just let Judy know. If you find you can send an iris you didn't include on your list, please do send it. It's welcome!

PLEASE make every effort to be accurate with your ID's. If you are not positive of the correct name of a donated iris, send it as a NOID. Many buyers are happy to grow those beauties, too. For noids, please give each variety a separate name or number, like NOID 27 or Aunt Mary's NOID, and email a photo whenever possible. Photos sell irises!

Dig and ship rhizomes to us in the week of July 1-6. We would like all rhizomes to arrive by July 9. All rhizomes must be clearly labeled on an inner leaf of the fan (if you write on an outer leaf, it will shrivel and we can't read the name). Please do not wrap the rhizomes in plastic for shipping. Priority Mail is best, but Parcel Post will do. Mail rhizomes to:

Nancy McDonald,
PO Box 221 (postal mail only)
E21761 Ridge Road (other shippers only)
Grand Marais MI 49839

The sale will start on July 20th; HIPS members can purchase for the first three days, then the sale is open to the general public.  Full details are on the HIPS website at http://www.historiciris.org/hips-rhizome-sale-2016
 
2016 AIS Photo Contest Underway
2008 Landscape Winner Peggy Cathey
 
The 2016 running of the Photo Contest is accepting entries.  Entries will be received from May 1st to July 31st (midnight).

Now is a great time to be taking your photos for this and to remember all the great irises you see this year.  For most of us, now is when we have the best opportunities to see and enjoy irises.  Whether it is the AIS Convention, all the iris shows, your garden, or other gardens, take your camera or cell phone! 

Contest details, including prizes for the winners, can be found here.  That page also has a link to the entry form (PDF). Questions and entries can be emailed to Janet Smith at gbyp456@gmail.com or send your photo CD and form to the address on the form.
Spring 2016 Irises Bulletin Available
 
Another great issue of the Irises Bulletin should be in your mailboxes by now.   You can learn about all the intriguing topics in this World of Irises blog post by Andi Rivarola.

The cover is another winner from the 2015 AIS Photo Contest: 'Social Graces' which is a Keppel 2000 TB photographed by Pat McNeal.

One of the inserts in this issue is the AIS 2016 Symposium ballot.  471 Tall Bearded Irises from which you can choose 25 to vote for.  Details on sending your votes by September 1 to your RVP can be found here.

Emembers can see it online with their AIS Emember ID and password.  You can learn more about Emembership here and Emembers can follow this link to sign in.

Tiny Tales - Dwarf Iris Society Electronic Newsletter
'Lime Double Dwarf'
 
The first issue of the Dwarf Iris Society electronic newsletter recently was sent to members and others interested in MDBs.  It included their MDB Collections now on sale, what you might win at the AIS Convention, and there was even a jigsaw puzzle for your enjoyment, one with rotation of pieces; just use the arrow keys on your keyboard to rotate.

Thank you to Lyn Wilson of DIS for preparing the newsletter.  To receive your copy of this and future issues of Tiny Talk, let either Lyn at irislyn@cox.net or Robert Pries at robertpries@embarqmail.com know.

Purple Based Foliage HIPS Project
 
Something that is of interest both as a novelty and as a means of identifying irises is purple based foliage (pbf).  Some 10-20% are believed to have it to varying degrees.  The Historic Iris Preservation Society has just begun a long-term project to collect your observations of PBF.

They would like to hear about purple based foliage, in fact, purple anywhere on an iris except the flower.  They are interested in information on all irises, historic and future-historic.  Learn about the project here.  That page also has links to a 1992 ROOTS article by Phil Edinger and other descriptions gathered by Karen Puffer, both dealing with irises only through 1939 introductions.  It also links to a template you can use for recording your observations.

HIPS members can learn more as the Spring 2016 ROOTS includes an article "What Do You See? Purple Based Foliage: PBF" showing some examples of various pbf expressions by Dave Prichard. 

Can you help?  Observations by all iris gardeners are welcomed!
Don't Be Afraid of the Iris
'Publicity Stunt'
 
Is the title for an article about the Monterey Bay Iris Society's (MBIS) annual iris show.  Tom Karwin, Garden Columnist for the Santa Cruz Sentinel and past president for MBIS, wrote about irises, the (then upcoming) iris show, the Monterey Bay Iris Society, and why you would enjoy the show and joining MBIS in this article.  To help allay gardeners' concerns, he points to MBIS's How to Grow Bearded Irises.  You can also see the show program and a PDF of the show flyer as examples for promoting your show.

After seeing this, I wondered, what other topics should we be developing to reach other gardeners?  Do you have presentations or publicity materials or guides that could be shared?  Please let us know your thoughts.

For current resources, did you know there is a webpage on the Iris Wiki devoted to outreach and marketing for your iris society?  There is also one to help with forming a new affiliate. 
A Sassy Jigsaw Puzzle
 
One of the things I appreciate about the Iris Encyclopedia is its assistance in identifying irises.  The search function is great for locating irises where the name I have is not quite correct.  As illustrated by this month's jigsaw where I was searching for Miss Arraville - which does not locate any iris.  However, you can search for parts of the name.  One of the combinations I checked, "miss" and "vill" as parts of the title, found 'Miss Aravilla', with photos matching the bloom I saw.

You can see 'Miss Aravilla' (Henry Peter Sass, 1938)  as this month's jigsaw.  You can play either the standard difficulty jigsaw or the harder difficulty jigsaw, or both.
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.

The Emembers Login link can now be found in the Quick Links in the left column.  You will need your username and password which comes from the AIS Membership Secretary (aismemsec@irises.org).