Barry probably cries all the way to the bank. I doubt he feels unappreciated. It's sad to see him and Keith cutting back.

Blyth has won few AIS awards because his irises haven't been introduced in the US. Keith Keppel has co-introduced a few and such was the case with Decadence.

Unfortunately, since I have replaced it three times and the last rhizome hasn't bloomed, I cannot vote for it.

It's good to hear from you again, Walter!. It seems like I haven't seen you here in ages.

I, too, couldn't vote for it from the performance it's shown in my garden so far (it looks like it will bloom this year), but as I said it's been nice seeing one of his stars rise. One would hope it was happening by conscientious decisions by the judges.

Looking at my sample ballot shows me just how many categories I would need to cross out, because I read the lists of names and say "I'm not familiar with that one. I've seen it in tour gardens, but that's not two year's evaluation." or "That one is drop-dead gorgeous, but it hasn't bloomed for two or three seasons, now."

It is a daunting responsibility that I look forward to having the honor of taking on.

It IS a daunting task, Brock. This year will be my first year for casting a ballot, and I'm a little freaked out over not being familiar with sooo many of the eligible cultivars. I can already tell you my ballot will not have nearly the maximum number of votes in any category. I almost feel like I'm punishing irises by not voting for them just because I'm unfamiliar with them or haven't been able to see them the required 2 years...

Though even if I WERE familiar with every one, I think that would still be the case. My definition of "worthy of awards" is pretty tough.

I almost wish there was another option on the ballot - votes for those irises one thinks are worthy, and voting NO for some irises that I've seen that in my evaluation, are definite no-go's. That way, there'd be some way to differentiate between not voting for something because I'm not familiar with it, and not voting for something because I don't think it should get an award. And the NO vote cancels one YES vote. So an iris might get 50 YES votes, and 5 NO votes, for a total "score" of 45. It *might* help out the lesser-known irises and those that really do grow well everywhere.

'Sea Power' would've gotten a NO vote from me. For me, it was a poor grower, bloomed ONE time on a very runty stalk with 2 buds (in a year when everything else bloomed fine), and finally croaked altogether. My experience with SP is not an isolated event...

I've thought about writing this idea up for publication somewhere, but I'd have to reinforce my rotten-tomato shield first, I think. ;-)

Don't be intimidated by the ballot. There are 870 eligible for HMs in the TB section alone. No one can expect to know all of those. Just vote for what you have seen growing well for two seasons.

Depending upon where you live and what you can grow, there may be some sections where you cannot vote for anything. Where I live that includes PCNs, MDBs, and possibly MTBs plus some of the species. Siberians and spurias don't grown well in MS either.

I had my first bloom this season on a pseudata yesterday (pseudacorus x ensata). Tsukyono is a vigorous grower and might adapt to most climates. These look like three-falled Japanese irises but bloom before the JIs.

I am just happy to have some of mine on the ballot. No worry about me voting for my own as I am not a judge. Sea Power survives fine here but it blooms short and not near the bloom as it does on the west coast. I saw a stalk that formed in a rhizome from Keith. That alone would have me vote for it. All I could say was WOW! WOW!

Mike G

I'm a newbie grower compared to you guys, but it really is interesting to see the differences in growth in different areas of the country. I assume that like anything else, the bigger names produce the better known plants because more people grow them and discuss them. There must be lots of real treasures out there that are largely undiscovered b/c they've been passed over.

I am happy to say that Decadence put on a real show here this year. It just finished blooming and was excellent. I am so happy that most of Blyth's irises grow extremely well here. I feel very fortunate for that.

Mike, SC, Zone 8

I hope that we never resort to giving the Dykes to an iris that will survive in all the areas iris can be grown. I don't like to see an unhardy Dykes winner, but I do want it to have an abundant supply of the "Wow" factor. Expose' doesn't particularly flourish in my area, but in other areas it is definitely wow! It would be nice to see stronger emphasis on regional awards. But then I think most of us would know before those awards came out, which iris did well in our area.

Blyth's climate is totally different from mine, and that is probably the reason his things do not grow well where I live. Some of the older ones did, but the later crop is a wash-out...Wearing Rubies, Louisa's Song, Decadence, Mastery, Indulgence, etc. Most of these I have tried at least three times and they were all dead by early spring, and I never saw a bloom on them. I do have Tuscan Villa, a huge yellow that is supposed to have Louisa's song in it. The branching here is terrible and there are only four buds, but the flower is spectacular. I have crossed it to vigorous blues, hoping I might bring LS back.

I am an Iris newbie as well. My 'Decadence' planted last year looks great, has at least 7 fans (it was one fan with some "toes" when I received it). It does not have flower stalks, so it is a little disappointing... I was so looking forward to see it blooming this year...

The other Blyth's Iris 'Pirate Ahoy' planted at the same time is smaller, but it has a nice stalk with buds.