2025 AIS Popularity Poll
The new AIS Iris Popularity Poll opened for voting on November 1 and will close on January 31, 2026. The poll is open to all classes of irises, both bearded and beardless, not just tall bearded.
Instead of providing you a list of irises (as in the Tall Bearded Symposium, which this is replacing), you will be able to type in the names of your favorite irises on an online form and submit it electronically. You will be asked to give the state where you garden, the name of the iris (up to 25 different cultivars) and the class of each iris you named. We will also be asking for the voters’ names just in case several people use the same email address in order for those to be counted as separate voters. For those without a computer, please submit your votes to your RVP or affiliate chair. We hope you will restrict your votes to irises you have seen growing well in your region or home garden.
The committee sees huge potential from data collected from iris lovers who live all over the US and Canada. This poll is open to anyone, so your fellow club members who have not yet joined AIS may also vote. Because the poll includes all classes of irises, we can find out what irises people are enjoying all over North America. Some of the cooperating societies and affiliates such as the Dwarf Iris Society have their own polls, which provide useful information about what their members grow. This poll, under the auspices of AIS, can reach beyond the AIS membership, such as affiliates, sections and cooperating society members, plus other gardeners who also love irises.
We are hoping that analysis of the data (especially useful if enough of you vote) will show us favorite irises by region and state. We’d also like to use the data to see what irises do well in the frozen north, the humid southeast, the hot desert, and under other growing conditions. Maybe you will find that there is a class of irises you didn’t know does well in similar growing conditions to yours. Results could let you know the names of different types of irises you might want to try.
HOW TO VOTE
To participate in the 2025 Iris Popularity Poll, choose up to 25 favorite irises that you have seen growing well in your area. If you are unsure how to spell an iris name, please check the Iris Encyclopedia https://wiki.irises.org/. You (or a helper) can access the online popularity poll between November 1, 2025, and January 31, 2026. To submit a response:
1) Click this online form link or use the button below.
2) Enter an email address and the respondent’s name.
3) Select the appropriate state, province, or territory.
4) Select the appropriate AIS region (if known)
5) For each of the 25 favorite irises, type its name and classification (if known).
6) There will be dropdowns to help select state, AIS Region and iris type.