2025 Awards of Merit

The Award of Merit

One of the American Iris Society’s most coveted awards is the Award of Merit (AM). The AM is given each year to a limited number of iris varieties in each of the recognized classifications of iris, but only after the eligible varieties have been marketed over a period of time. This assures wide distribution and thus affords the judges sufficient opportunities to properly evaluate the eligible varieties as worthy of the AM. Judges again are reminded that it is the responsibility of the individual judge to determine that the iris variety conforms to the requirements of the classification in which it is registered. Eligibility for the Award of Merit begins the second year after the iris variety has received the Honorable Mention (HM) Award and eligibility continues for three years. All eligible varieties are listed on the official AIS Ballot during the three years of eligibility. An iris may win an Award of Merit only once.

There were 70 irises that won Award of Merit in 2025. They are displayed in the galleries below.

The galleries only show the Award of Merit winners. For a complete voting results list of the 2025 Award of Merit eligible irises click here.

Return to the main 2025 Awards page.

33 - 2025 Tall Bearded (TB) Award of Merit Irises

Total votes cast - 3,210

‘Centennial Celebration’
39 Votes
Diana Ford

‘Ignite The Light’
38 Votes
Thomas Johnson

‘Folklorico’
33 Votes
Steve Kelly

‘Martian Sunset’
32 Votes
Steve Kelly

‘All In Vein’
29 Votes
Thomas Johnson

‘Cowboy Boots’
29 Votes
Schreiner

‘Cubs Win It’
26 Votes
Chad Harris

‘I'm Not Stable’
26 Votes
Paul Black

‘Poetry In Bloom’
24 Votes
Anna Cadd

‘Seek The Unique’
24 Votes
Paul Black

‘Witchy Woman’
24 Votes
Howard Dash

‘Barney In A Blender’
21 Votes
Randall Moore

‘Caustic Tongue’
21 Votes
Hooker Nichols

‘Champion Bloodlines’
21 Votes
Patricia McNeal

‘Zip Zing Zowie’
21 Votes
Paul Black

‘Above All The Lights’
20 Votes
Roger Duncan

‘Delldicated’
20 Votes
Tom Burseen

‘Medal Of Honor’
20 Votes
Thomas Johnson

‘Moonglint’
20 Votes
Keith Keppel

‘Strawberry Smoothie’
20 Votes
Robert Skaggs

‘Wichita Falls’
20 Votes
Z. Benson by Mary Rhodes

‘Fire Fighter’
19 Votes
Hugh Stout

‘Orange Dreamsicle’
19 Votes
Michael Sutton

‘Turkish Tapestry’
19 Votes
Keith Keppel

‘Wealth’
19 Votes
Keith Keppel

‘Brass Lamp’
18 Votes
Keith Keppel

‘Creatures Of The Night’
18 Votes
Paul Black

‘Eyes Of An Angel’
18 Votes
Thomas Johnson

‘Fault Lines’
18 Votes
Michael Sutton

‘Pumpkin Spice’
18 Votes
Paul Black

‘Shannon Hiatt’
18 Votes
Steve Kelly

‘Tequila Sunset’
18 Votes
Robert Van Liere

‘You're A Mess’
18 Votes
Paul Black

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4 - 2025 Border Bearded (BB) Award of Merit Irises

Total votes cast - 216

‘Rocky Racoon’
23 Votes
Larry Lauer

‘Boundless Berry’
22 Votes
Paul Black

‘Coin Flip’
22 Votes
Joseph Ghio

‘Pin Striped Suit’
22 Votes
Riley Probst

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2 - 2025 Intermediate Bearded (IB) Award of Merit Irises

Total votes cast - 227

‘Hungarian Rhapsody’
26 Votes
Paul Black

‘Aquarian’
19 Votes
Marky Smith

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2 - 2025 Miniature Tall Bearded (MTB) Award of Merit Irises

Total votes cast - 212

‘Emoji’
27 Votes
Lynda Miller

‘Little Peaches’
25 Votes
Lynda Miller

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7 - 2025 Standard Dwarf Bearded (SDB) Award of Merit Irises

Total votes cast - 691

‘Dab Of Butter’
23 Votes
Geroge Sutton by Michael Sutton

‘Black And Blueberry’
20 Votes
Michael Sutton

‘Blessed’
20 Votes
Michael Sutton

‘Searing Embers’
20 Votes
Thomas Johnson

‘Zig Zag’
19 Votes
Thomas Johnson

‘Baby Carrots’
18 Votes
Hugh Stout

‘Mauve Miastress’
18 Votes
Michael Sutton

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2 - 2025 Miniature Dwarf Bearded (MDB) Award of Merit Irises

Total votes cast - 137

‘Water Goblins’
18 Votes
Paul Black

‘Teacup Sonata’
16 Votes
Lee Walker

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2 - 2025 Aril and Arilbred (AR) & (AB) Award of Merit Irises

Aril irises and arilbred irises with at least 50% aril content

Total votes cast - 119

‘Rosy Celebration’
AB(OGB)
57 Votes
Richard Tasco

‘Eye On America’
AB(OGB)
32 Votes
Paul Black

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2 - 2025 Arilbred (AB) Award of Merit Irises

Arilbred irises with at least 25% but less than 50% aril content

Total votes cast - 146

‘Creative Art’
AB(OGB-)
55 Votes
Richard Tasco

‘Sailing At Dawn’
AB(OGB-)
41 Votes
Richard Tasco

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3 - 2025 Species (SPEC) Award of Merit Irises

Total votes cast - 46

‘June Lake’
22 Votes
Chad Harris

‘Mary And Gus’
12 Votes
Jack Worel

‘Sandy's Gift’
12 Votes
Joseph Musacchia

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2 - 2025 Species-X (SPEC-X) Award of Merit Irises

Total votes cast - 106

‘It's A Bigun’
37 Votes
Jill Copeland

‘Cascadian Snow’
36 Votes
Chad Harris

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2 - 2025 Pacific Coast Iris (PCI)/(CA) Award of Merit Irises

Total votes cast - 57

‘Alphabetical Order’
11 Votes
Joseph Ghio

‘Brevette’
10 Votes
Deborah A. Cole

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3 - 2025 Louisiana (LA) Award of Merit Irises

Total votes cast - 218

‘Optical Illusion’
19 Votes
Robert Treadway

‘Iko Iko’
17 Votes
Joseph Musacchia

‘Flaming Hot’
13 Votes
Ron Betzer

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2 - 2025 Siberian (SIB) Award of Merit Irises

Total votes cast - 173

‘If Swans Were Blue’
30 Votes
Robert Hollingworth

‘All Gothed Up’
28 Votes
Marty Schafer & Jan Sacks

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2 - 2025 Spuria (SPU) Award of Merit Irises

Total votes cast - 83

‘Black Stetson’
26 Votes
Jim Hedgecock

‘Bees Do It’
18 Votes
Nancy Price

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2 - 2025 Japanese (JI) Award of Merit Irises

Total votes cast - 75

‘Mulberry Halos’
26 Votes
Chad Harris

‘Sprinkled Pink’
26 Votes
J. Terry Aitken

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Return to the main 2025 Awards page.

If you find errors in the information presented here, please contact the AIS Encyclopedia Manager at aisencyclopedia@irises.org

-- DougChyz - 8 Oct 2025