It’s Iris Reporting Time!
Once a year, we ask HIPS members, our Guardian Garden (GG) participants, and our iris retail partners to complete a “census” of historic irises growing in their garden and send the information to us. We need to know what irises you are growing, in order to establish rarity numbers for our preservation programs and see how well our programs are working. Don’t worry, your information will be kept confidential. We can’t stress how important this is! Please help.
To make it as easy as possible, we’ve created an Excel form that will automatically fill in the details of an iris (intro year, breeder, etc.) when you add the name. If you already keep track of your irises using a spreadsheet, you can copy and paste your entire list of historic irises into the Name column and the sheet will do the rest. Then Save it, and email it to our Databank team at [email protected]. Easy! Once you save it, it will also become a record for you to keep on your computer. Keep in mind, this form is NOT optimized for completion on or use with a mobile device. This form will only work on a computer. If you do not have access to a computer to complete this form, just email us your list!
Let’s Go!
Where do I find the Excel file?
Log into the website, and go to Member Portal – Downloads. Click on the button “2022 HIPS IRIS HOLDINGS DATA COLLECTION FORM” and it will download onto your computer. Your computer will save the file to your download folder or may ask if you want to open it. The choice is yours. Here’s a shortcut to the Member Portal (you’ll be asked to log in).
NOTE: If you have trouble downloading the file, you can right-click on the green download button and choose Save Link As to save it to the location of your choice. The file will open from there.
My sheet says Protected View. What do I do?
Go ahead and click the Enable Editing button at the top. That will allow you to enter your irises.
I have the spreadsheet open. Now what?
At the bottom of the sheet, you’ll see three tabs. The first tab for is called HOLDINGS. This is the tab you where you will enter your personal information (Name, Address, Are you a GG participant?) and information about the historic irises in your garden. The next tab is labeled INSTRUCTIONS (read those; very simple) and after that, the next tab is EXAMPLE (read that if you need to; very clear). Fill in the iris names – just the names – in Column A and the rest of the information will fill in automatically. If you use a spreadsheet or other list, you can copy and paste a whole column of iris names right into this form. (See the INSTRUCTIONS tab for more details.)
I entered my irises but some details aren’t showing up.
If you are seeing blank spaces, check your spelling. We are using the official names as entered in the AIS Wiki (including punctuation). Also, check to see if you have an extra space at the end of the name – that will prevent the details from appearing. If you get stuck, leave it as is and we’ll double-check it.
Should I enter irises that are almost historic?
Nearly-historic irises should show up in the list. If not, you can go ahead and enter your nearly-historic irises, but please also enter the information for columns C-E as well. (And thank you for that help!)
Some of my irises might have died. Should I wait to see?
Please go ahead and send us a partial list of what think you have. That’s valuable information, and you can always add to your list later.
I’m not very spreadsheet-savvy. Can you help me?
Have no fear! We understand that spreadsheets can be a bit daunting. If you prefer, send us your list and our team will create a sheet for you. You can:
– Email us a list that you already have; send it to [email protected]
– Hand write a list and snap a photo of it with a cellphone, then email that to us at [email protected]
– Send us your written list via mail to HIPS Databank, 1 Heller Place, Maplewood, NJ 07040
Thanks to you, we are saving historic irises!