American Iris Society holds National Convention in New Mexico for the first time

VADO, New Mexico - For many, this week in April is just a regular week. But for American Iris enthusiasts, it's this year's National Iris Convention! Normally, the American Iris Society holds a convention every year, but it has been postponed of late due to the pandemic. This is the first convention held since the pandemic began, and it is also the first one ever held in New Mexico- something Scarlett Ayres, co-chair of the NM convention, is very proud of.

"It's going remarkably well. We are enjoying it, the comradery, you know talking with our friends from other past conventions," Ayres said.

On Thursday, the iris enthusiasts were able to tour the gardens participating in this year's convention. Five busses full of guests visited the Blue J Iris, and Calhoun Flower Farms that morning and afternoon, and four other gardens are also open to the guests, including the co-chairs own garden- Ayres Garden, the Wilson Garden, Fabian Garcia Garden, and the Farm and Ranch Museum Garden.

Mr. Miller is a judge for this year's convention. He's been attending the national convention for 30 years! "It's always a great convention because we get to see a lot of irises and we get to see the new ones which have just been crossed and have produced new hybrids," Miller said.

A few well-known hybridizers are attending this year's convention including Thomas Johnson and Riley Probst. Both have been mixing different varieties and coming up with new color variations for more than 30 years.

When ABC-7 asked Probst if he had any of his own varieties at the gardens on display, he laughed and said, "Yeah, but it died!"

Unfortunately, as the iris enthusiasts browsed through the gardens, only some flowers have already bloomed. The rest of the flowers will bloom in about a week- which is just barely after the convention is going to end. The gardeners blame the weather for that.

Obviously, the flower is a popular one, to have a national convention of this size. "Iris's are called the rainbow flower," Ayres told me, because they come in practically every color except a true rose red. Flower hybridists of the species have experimented for years, creating hundreds even thousands of new variations of the plants.

The Iris Society will also be hosting a rhizome sale at the Mesilla Valley Mall in September that includes those that were on display at the convention gardens.

If you are interested in visiting one of the gardens when they are in full bloom, you are in luck! Next Saturday, Calhoun's and the Blue J Iris gardens will be open to the public. For more information, you should check on their Facebook Page, https://www.facebook.com/CalhounFlowerFarms and on the convention website: http://aisregion23.com/2022-national-convention/