Yup -- I'm in agreement with that, Barb.
Regarding foliage -- I think that it's so uniform in Irises, and so well established for the species, that it would be really difficult to make any determinations early on. One fault of foliage would be a tendency toward leaf-spot or browning off -- but those issues usually show up later on in the season, generally after blooming. And those faults could be somewhat controlled (or helped) by activities of the gardener.
For myself -- I grow an Iris for one reason only -- the bloom. I don't care about the foliage -- it's not what I'm there for. If the bloom is spectacular, I'll live with foliage faults.
