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The Dwarf Iris Society of America (DIS)
is a non-profit 501(C)(3) organization
and is a Section of the American Iris
Society (AIS), which is a non-profit
organization incorporated
February 2, 1927, in the county of
Philadelphia, State of Pennsylvania.

The DIS is devoted to promoting
interest in and development of dwarf irises.

YAK ATTACK
(Brad Kasperek, R. 1997)
CW Medal 2008)

The Dwarf Iris Society was founded in 1950 by gardeners who were impressed by the early bloom, dainty shape, lively color and rugged persistance of the dwarf irises and wished to improve and popularize them. The Dwarf Iris Society has many activities including display gardens, awards, judges training, popularity symposia, a slide library, educational materials and supports research on the dwarf irises. The Society also has a Newsletter, a Robin program, a Cultivar Conservation program, plant sales, and national conventions with the American Iris Society. If you want to enjoy the dwarf irises even more we invite you to join the Dwarf Iris Society.

TINGLE (Paul Black, R. 2000)
Runner-up CW Medal 2006,07, 08

Minature Dwarf Bearded (MDB) irises are classified as those that do not exceed 8 " (20 cm) in height when blooming under normal conditions. They are the first of the bearded irises to bloom in the spring. Often blooming through light frosts and moderate snow cover. They produce low mounds of tiny leaves smothered by an abundance of flowers with crisp substance, and clear colors. Their color range includes shades and tints of nearly every color in the visible spectrum along with browns, tans, buffs, wines, purples,
lavenders, orchids, creams and white. They can be all one color, bicolor, spoted, speckled and veined flowers, the beards may be any shade from white, tangerine, to almost black. Because one may select MDBs for gardens from Maine and the lower Canadian provinces to California and Texas, they are among the most versatile and disirable of bearded irises.

The most important dwarf ancestor of all our modern MDB varieties is the diminutive species iris pumila still found growing in sunny exposures from central Europe east to the Ural Mountains. Many clones were collected and hybridized to produced the "pumilas" and "pumila-type" MDBs. These are the smallest and most cold tolerant of the group, but do not always bloom well in warm climates. Another hybrid-type of MDB was created by crossing I. pumila with tetraploid tall bearded irises, followed by repeated intercrossing of such hybrids selected in each generation for small size. These are the 40-chromosome "MDBs" which are generally more reliable than the pumilas in warm regions. Crossing the two types produced other showy MDBs with characteristices intermediate between the two parent types. A number of other short bearded iris species have been used to produce MDBs, but they are not often used for primary crosses today. MDBs require only a warm, sunny exposure and a well-drained neutral soil of average fertility. They are excellent rock garden plants, make colorful edgings to garden borders and paths, and are striking subjects in patio planters and troughs. Some miniature dwarf irises bloom again in the fall. These are called reblooming irses.

wysiwyg Webmaster Ken Coleman, email: DISoA@zyworld.com
Last updated Nov. 27, 2008

All photos on this page
by Carol & Ken Coleman
supplied by C. Iris On Pond

Tiny Titan (J. T. Aitken, 2002)
Runner-up CW Medal 2008

Wee Viking (A & D Willott, 2005)
Am 2007, EC 2004

ŠDISoA