The DIS symposium (or popularity poll) gives all members of the society the opportunity to vote for their favorite MDBs and other dwarf irises.
The DIS symposium is conducted on a 2-year cycle, with ballots for 2022-2023 being distributed in the 2022 Portfolio. Participants were asked to rate each iris they were familiar with on a scale of 1 to 5, rather than simply vote for their favorites. We made every effort to list all cultivars currently being grown, rather than limiting the list to those appearing in previous symposia. The goal is capture our members’ assessments of all cultivars, whether good or bad, whether new or old. Whereas simply voting for favorites tends to reward varieties that are widely grown, the rating system should highlight good irises, even if grown by just a few of us. We have only listed MDB cultivars that were rated by at 3 or more respondents.
The dwarf species symposium results follow the MDB results, below.
Results for reticulata irises and arilbred dwarfs are presented on their own web pages.
The results of the 2020-2021 symposium are presented on a separate web page, along with the 2017 symposium results.
Click on the name of an iris to view its page in the AIS Iris Encyclopedia.
| rank | cultivar | number of ratings | average rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Short Note (Walker, 2020) | 4 | 4.8 |
| 2 | Teacup Sonata (Walker, 2020) | 3 | 4.7 |
| 2 | Water Goblins (Black, 2019) | 3 | 4.7 |
| 4 | Miniseries (Keppel, 2011) |
4 | 4.5 |
Short Note
photo: Jeanette Graham
Teacup Sonata
photo: Lee Walker
Water Goblins
photo: Paul Black
Miniseries
photo: Tom Waters
| rank | cultivar | number of ratings | average rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5 | India Ink (Spoon, 2010) | 5 | 4.4 |
| 6 | Bugsy (Hager, 1993) | 3 | 4.3 |
| 6 | Self Evident (Hager, 1997) | 3 | 4.3 |
| 6 | Small Token (Miller, 2014) | 6 | 4.3 |
| 6 | Black Olive (Black, 2013) | 4 | 4.3 |
| 10 | Oh Grow Up (Miller, 2018) | 5 | 4.2 |
| 10 | Tiny Titan (Aitken, 2002) | 5 | 4.2 |
| 10 | Wise (Johnson, 2001) | 5 | 4.2 |
| 13 | Alpine Lake (Willott, 1980) |
5 | 4.0 |
| 13 | Behold Titania (Hager, 2003) | 3 | 4.0 |
| 13 | Chubby Cherub (Aitken, 1986) | 3 | 4.0 |
| 13 | Dollop of Cream (Black, 2006) | 4 | 4.0 |
| 13 | Fairy Firefly (Aitken, 2015) | 3 | 4.0 |
| 13 | Grapelet (Aitken, 1989) | 3 | 4.0 |
| 13 | Icon (Keppel, 2008) | 5 | 4.0 |
| 13 | Kay (Johnson, 2017) |
3 | 4.0 |
| 13 | Lemon Puff (Dunbar, 1969) |
4 | 4.0 |
| 13 | Minifigs (Miller, 2016) | 3 | 4.0 |
| 13 | Petite Fairy (Walker, 2009) | 3 | 4.0 |
| 13 | Punk (Ransom, 1998) | 3 | 4.0 |
| 13 | Spot of Tea (Black, 1988) | 4 | 4.0 |
| 13 | Tingle (Black, 2000) |
3 | 4.0 |
| 13 | Tiny Talker (Walker, 2019) | 4 | 4.0 |
| 13 | Zipper (Sindt, 1979) | 3 | 4.0 |
| 29 | Atroviolacea (Todaro, 1856) | 5 | 3.8 |
| 29 | Beetlejuice (Black, 2013) | 5 | 3.8 |
| 29 | Fission Chips (Keppel, 2004) | 5 | 3.8 |
| 29 | Bride (Caparne, 1902) | 4 | 3.8 |
| 29 | Hey There (Lankow, 1992) | 4 | 3.8 |
| 29 | Red at Last (Mahood, 1969) | 4 | 3.8 |
| 35 | African Wine (Kasperek, 1999) | 3 | 3.7 |
| 35 | Cup Cake (Hubbard, 1965) | 3 | 3.7 |
| 35 | Elf Esteem (Black, 2015) | 3 | 3.7 |
| 35 | Elfin Magic (Willott, 1990) | 3 | 3.7 |
| 35 | Gold Canary (Willott, 1981) | 3 | 3.7 |
| 35 | Jiffy (Hager, 1995) | 3 | 3.7 |
| 35 | Knick-Knack (Greenlee, 1961) | 3 | 3.7 |
| 35 | Pixie Flirt (Willott, 1989) | 3 | 3.7 |
| 35 | Sleepy Time (Schreiner, 1987) | 3 | 3.7 |
| 35 | Snuggles (Miller, 1988) | 3 | 3.7 |
| 35 | Spiderweb (Spoon, 2003) | 3 | 3.7 |
| 35 | Strawberry Cream (Boushay, 1989) | 3 | 3.7 |
| 35 | Trifle (Hager, 1997) | 3 | 3.7 |
| 35 | Trimmed Velvet (Spoon, 2006) | 3 | 3.7 |
| 35 | Wee Dragons (Miller, 2017) | 3 | 3.7 |
| 35 | Wee Peeper (E. Rieniets, 2017) | 3 | 3.7 |
| 51 | Two Cream Tea (E. Rieniets, 2018) | 5 | 3.6 |
| 52 | Alas (Johnson, 2014) | 4 | 3.5 |
| 52 | Hobbit (Miller, 2004) | 4 | 3.5 |
| rank | cultivar | number of ratings | average rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 54 | Applet (Smith, 2006) | 3 | 3.3 |
| 54 | Early Sunshine (Grapes, 1955) | 3 | 3.3 |
| 54 | Extra (Palmer, 1989) | 3 | 3.3 |
| 54 | Libation (Hager, 1975) | 3 | 3.3 |
| 54 | Stripling (Smith, 2006) | 3 | 3.3 |
| 54 | Buddha Song (Dunbar, 1970) | 4 | 3.3 |
| 54 | Snowy River (Willott, 1985) | 4 | 3.3 |
| 61 | Blue Doll (Warburton, 1958) | 6 | 3.2 |
| 62 | Ditto (Hager, 1982) | 3 | 3.0 |
| 62 | Garnet Elf (Hamblen, 1977) | 3 | 3.0 |
| 62 | Kayla's Song (Spoon, 2009) | 3 | 3.0 |
| 62 | Tooth Fairy (Jones, 1992) | 4 | 3.0 |
| 66 | Pokemon (Sutton, 2003) | 4 | 2.8 |
| 67 | Keeno (Johnson, 2009) | 3 | 2.7 |
| 67 | White Light (Welch, 1971) | 3 | 2.7 |
| 69 | Brown Imp (Fry, 1987) | 3 | 2.3 |
Since no cultivar received 3 or more ratings, all responses are reported.
| rank | cultivar | number of ratings | average rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Keystone Oracle (Jesberger, 2011) I. pumila | 1 | 5.0 |
| 1 | Lavender Moonbeams (Tasco, 2014) I. unguicularis |
1 | 5.0 |
| 1 | Wild Whispers (Coleman, 2012) I. pumila | 1 | 5.0 |
| 4 | Dazzling Eyes (Tasco, 2004) I. unguicularis |
2 | 4.5 |
| 4 | Winter Echoes (Tasco, 2011) I. unguicularis |
2 | 4.5 |
| 6 | Crouching Tiger (Tankesley-Clarke, 2003) I. pumila | 1 | 4.0 |
| 6 | Sudden Butterflies (Jensen, R. 2010) I. pumila | 1 | 4.0 |
| 8 | Hidden Dragon (Tankesley-Clarke, 2003) I. pumila | 1 | 3.0 |
| 8 | Lesser Goldfinch (Baumunk, 2003) I. pumila | 2 | 3.0 |
| 10 | Woolong (Waddick, 2002) I. tectorum | 1 | 2.0 |