Louisiana Iris Winners are Made, Not Born! – By Marie Caillet
This is like the old maid telling you how to raise your children, but I have seen Louisiana irises come and go for more than 50 years. I have seen not-so-good ones make it to the top and then disappear from gardens. But worse than that are the really excellent varieties that have never received awards […]
Winners of the Mary Swords DeBaillion Award and Medal
SOCIETY FOR LOUISIANA IRISES — Mary Swords DeBaillion Awards — 1948 to present The highest award an Louisiana iris could receive from 1948 until 1985 was the Mary Swords DeBaillon Award. During that period, SLI was an independent unit with no affiliation whatsoever with the American Iris Society (AIS). SLI became a Cooperating Organization of AIS in […]
Louisiana Iris Award of Merit Winners – 1985 to 2021
Each year the American Iris Society (AIS) judges to award the Award of Merit (AM) to a group of irises. Eligibility for the AM beings the second year after the iris variety has recieved the Honorable Mention Award (HM), and eligibility continues for three years. The AM is one of the AIS’s most coveted awards and […]
History of the Mary Swords DeBaillon Medal by Marie Caillet*
The DeBaillon Medal for Louisiana irises was the first specialty award created for a single group of irises and added to the American Iris Society awards system. It became official in January of 1949, when judges were appointed by the Regional Vice-President of the AIS. There was little or no special training given to judges […]
Mary Swords DeBaillion Award and Medal – Detailed Results with runnersup
Year Votes Cultivar Hybridizer 2021 DeBaillon 52 ‘When Pigs Fly’ Patrick O’Connor 2021 DeBaillon 39 ‘Rooster’ Ron Betzer 2021 Runnerup 37 ‘Watermelon Wizard’ Hooker Nichols 2021 Runnerup 36 ‘Melody Wilhoit’ Hooker Nichols 2021 Runnerup 13 ‘Gris Gris’ Patrick O’Connor 2021 Runnerup 11 ‘Blue Splatter’ Wayland Rudkin 2021 Runnerup 10 ‘Seminole Moon’ Harry Wolford 2021 […]
Awards of the American Iris Society for Seedlings, Registered and Introduced Irises
Awards of the American Iris Society Awards (AIS) for seedling, Registered and Introduced Iris Each year the judges of the AIS vote the offical ballot and awards are made to many different classifications of irises. Other awards are given for irises winning the most most in the gardens on the tours of the annual AIS convention. […]
Charles W. Arny Jr Award Info and Winners 1993-2021
The Charles W. Arny, Jr. award recognizes promising Louisiana irises and rewards the hybridizers of those cultivars for their work. Although many members continue to vote for the older cultivars, the intended purpose of the award is to encourage hybridizers and recognize outstanding recent introductions. The award was established in 1993 in honor of his […]
Louisiana Irises win American Iris Society Awards for 2015
American Iris Society announces results of 2015 Official AIS Ballots The Mary Swords DeBaillon Medal Seminole Sunrise by Harry Wolford – 30 votes out of 133 cast Runnersup Renee Fleming by Heather Pryor – 27 votes Rochester Lilacs by Heather Pryor – 19 votes Rilla Hickerson by Farron Campbell registered […]
Society for Louisiana Irises Honorary Awards
Society for Louisiana Irises Honorary Awards The Society for Louisiana Irises has established a series of awards to honor individuals for services to the Society. The following identifies those awards and the criteria for each. Service Award: This is an award presented to an individual who has given unselfishly of time, service and support of the […]
American Iris Society Official Ballots Result in Awards 2016
The results of the American Iris Society (AIS) official ballots, as voted by AIS judges, have been complied and the Louisiana Iris winners for 2016 are: The Mary Swords DeBaillon Medal (Total votes cast = 127) The Winner is: “Blue Mountain Mist” by Bernard Pryor with 20 votes Runners up: 19 – “Cajun Serenade” by […]
