General Meeting of the BC Iris Society

Tuesday, April 28, 2026
7:00 PM

Guest Speaker: Mike Unser

Topic: Historic Irises & Their Preservation

BCIS Members will receive a link to this meeting via email.
Non-Members may attend for a $5 fee. Contact: bcirissocietypresident@gmail.com

Mike Unser and his husband, Daniel, live in Olympia, Washington, with their three cats. He is an active member of the American Iris Society, Historic Iris Preservation Society and the Pierce County Iris Society (PCIS). He has been collecting and studying historic irises since 1998, when he first got hooked on them after he came across a 1941 catalogue from Cooley’s Gardens.  He absolutely fell in love with the old-fashioned forms and patterns of the irises. He has grown hundreds of historic varieties over the years and has photographed thousands in gardens around the US. He currently grows around 200 varieties, with a special emphasis on the varieties of Dr. Rudolph Kleinsorge of Silverton, Oregon. He grows 56 of the 100 varieties Dr. Kleinsorge introduced between 1921 and 1962. There is one more in Switzerland that he still needs to acquire, and he will have all known existing varieties of Dr.Kleinsorge’s introductions.  Mike has been a member of the HIPS for over 25 years and was their webmaster for many years. He still contributes to their social media pages, donates to the annual rhizome sale and assists with identification questions. He is grateful to HIPS for the access it has given him to so many amazing iris growers and collectors from around the world. “I have learned so much from them. I have found iris folks to be so kind and generous”, Mike says.