I hope Lucy comments on this. Her years of experience are of value to our discussions. I think that there have been times when a very 'pretty face' wins the approval of those who vote and faults aren't immediately evident. An iris is seen by the right people in the right places,wins an award, and then as it is more widely distributed the faults become evident. I think that 'Mystique', a very pretty iris which won the Dykes, turned out to be a slow difficult grower in some areas while others had great success with it. 'Dream Lover', introduced in the 70's by Esther Tams of Utah, was in prime bloom when viewed by the judges who saw it at the convention, gained enthusiasm, and went on to win the Dykes. Melba Hamblen, another Utah hybridizer, introduced many wonderful awarding winning iris, had runner-ups, but never won the Dykes. It is probably impossible to design a perfect system.
