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 2024-2025 being distributed in the 2024 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 precvious symposia are presented on a separate web page.
Click on the name of an iris to view its page in the AIS Iris Encyclopedia.
| rank | cultivar | number of ratings | average rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Elf Esteem (Black, 2015) | 3 | 5.0 |
| 1 | Self Evident (Hager, 1997) | 3 | 5.0 |
| 1 | Small Token (Miller, 2014) | 3 | 5.0 |
| 1 | Snowy River (Willott, 1985) | 3 | 5.0 |
| 1 | Teacup Sonata (Walker, 2020) | 3 | 5.0 |
| 6 | Bam (Tasco, 2017) | 4 | 4.7 |
| 7 | Blue Doll (Warburton, 1958) | 3 | 4.7 |
| 7 | Dragon Flamedart (Moran, 2011) | 3 | 4.7 |
| 7 | Early Sunshine (Grapes, 1955) | 3 | 4.7 |
| 7 | Fire Opal Orange (Walker, 2008) | 3 | 4.7 |
| 7 | Fission Chips (Keppel, 2004) | 3 | 4.7 |
| 7 | Hobbit (Miller, 2004) | 3 | 4.7 |
| 7 | Knick-Knack (Greenlee, 1961) | 3 | 4.7 |
| 14 | Black Olive (Black, 2013) | 4 | 4.5 |
Elf Esteem
photo: Jeanette Graham
Self Evident
photo: Jeanette Graham
Small Token
photo: Aitken's
Snowy River
photo: Tom Waters
Teacup Sonata
photo: Tom Waters
| rank | cultivar | number of ratings | average rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 15 | Cyanea (Goos and Koenemann, 1899) | 3 | 4.3 |
| 15 | India Ink (Spoon, 2010) | 3 | 4.3 |
| 15 | Oh Grow Up (Miller, 2018) | 3 | 4.3 |
| 18 | Black Stallion (Hite, 1983) | 4 | 4.2 |
| 18 | Extra (Palmer, 1989) | 4 | 4.2 |
| 18 | Little Drummer Boy (Willott, 1997) | 4 | 4.2 |
| 21 | Beetlejuice (Black, 2013) | 4 | 4.0 |
| 21 | Behold Titania (Hager, 2003) | 4 | 4.0 |
| 21 | Chubby Cherub (Aitken, 1986) |
4 | 4.0 |
| 24 | Atroviolacea (Todaro, 1856) | 3 | 4.0 |
| 24 | Bee Wings (Brown, 1960) | 3 | 4.0 |
| 24 | Buddha Song (Dunbar, 1970) | 3 | 4.0 |
| 24 | Jada (K. Rieniets, 2022) | 3 | 4.0 |
| 24 | Little Mohee (Grapes, 1954) | 3 | 4.0 |
| 24 | Wee Dragons (Miller, 2017) | 5 | 4.0 |
| 30 | Marsh Imp (Taylor, 1972) | 3 | 3.7 |
| 30 | Spot of Tea (Black, 1989) |
3 | 3.7 |
| 32 | Red at Last (Mahood, 1969) | 6 | 3.5 |
| rank | cultivar | number of ratings | average rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 33 | Libation (Hager, 1975) | 3 | 3.3 |
| 33 | Wee Doll (Greenlee, 1981) | 3 | 3.3 |
| 35 | Bighorn (Schreiner, 2022) | 3 | 3.3 |
| 35 | Black Baby (Sass, 1955) | 3 | 3.0 |
| 35 | Gnome's Garden (Moran, 2021) | 3 | 3.0 |
| 35 | Opal Blush (Willott, 2005) | 3 | 3.0 |
Since no cultivar received 3 or more ratings, all responses are reported.
| rank | cultivar | number of ratings | average rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Winter Echoes (Tasco, 2011) I. unguicularis |
2 | 5.0 |
| 1 | Woolong (Waddick, 2002) I. tectorum |
2 | 5.0 |
| 3 | Sudden Butterflies (Jensen, R. 2010) I. pumila |
3 | 4.7 |
| 4 | Crouching Tiger (Tankesley-Clarke, 2003) I. pumila |
2 | 4.5 |
| 4 | Dazzling Eyes (Tasco, 2004) I. unguicularis |
2 | 4.5 |
| 6 | Wild Whispers (Coleman, 2012) I. pumila |
5 | 4.4 |
| 7 | Keystone Oracle (Jesberger, 2011) I. pumila |
3 | 4.0 |
| 7 | Lavender Moonbeams (Tasco, 2014) I. unguicularis |
2 | 4.0 |
| 9 | Lesser Goldfinch (Baumunk, 2003) I. pumila | 2 | 3.0 |