RE: HYB: unamed seedl(ings) & pretty flowers
From: "Randy C. Meuir" <rmeuir@mail.coin.missouri.edu>
On Tue, 25 Jan 2000, Mark, Maureen wrote:
> From: "Mark, Maureen" <MARKM@tc.gc.ca>
>
> Well said, Linda. I was thinking much the same thing. There are far more
Dear Iris Talk Folks,
I probably missed some of the posts on this subject and may be repeating
something that has already been said but I wanted to comment on whether it
is unethical to sell unnamed seedlings. I understand the concern of the
persons who have commented and respect their opinion but after thinking
about this subject I do not believe this practice is unethical. I am not
speaking from personal experience because I have never sold a plant
,registered or unregistered.
A seedling being made by the hybridizer at his/her expense of time, money
and labor is surely his personal property and may be sold at his
discretion. If a person has a unregistered female Beagle and raises
puppies from her and sells them, would we say he is unethical? The person
that buys the Beagle wants a pet or a hunting dog and is not interested in
registration. This does not hinder the much smaller number of people that
want to grow and show registered Beagles. If the buyer comes
to love Beagles he may buy a registered one someday or even fill his yard
with them (woe to his neighbor). I use the example of Beagles because
they are my favorite dogs.
As has been stated, hybridizers have many reasons for not introducing a
particular seedling. This does not mean the seedling is of no value or is
defective. He may have selected seedlings from the same cross that are
similar and he likes them a little better. The iris may be excellent in
every way but he just does not like that color combination or pattern. The
falls may not be as wide and ruffled as he likes, or maybe they do not
flare enough for his taste. I have visited a prominent hybridizers garden
and seen beautiful seedlings that he said he had no interest in. I would
hope that a hybridizer who sells seedlings would inform the customer of
what he is buying, whether it be selected seedlings or row run (if thats
the correct term) seedlings for landscaping or mass color.
All of our tastes are different and although we all have an idea of what a
perfect iris is, someone else may disagree completely. This was brought
home to me last year when a friend of mine who is an impressionistic
painter and a hybridizer of spider and unusual form daylilies came over to
see my seedlings. The seedlings he loved the most were ones that I would
never have selected. He loved the narrow twisting segments and things that
were out of the ordinary. I proudly showed him one of my wide petaled,
flaring, heavily ruffled TB seedlings and he scoffed at it, saying "you
should name that one brawny". That visit was a good learning experience
for me.
I do not believe we should be concerned about a hybridizer adding to the
unknown pool. If any club or individual sells low priced cultivars to the
general public they are adding to the unknown pool. The vast majority of
gardners care nothing about the names of iris cultivars. If they buy a
plant with a name on it they may look at the name and think it is quaint
then throw the label in the trash can and forget the name. Almost none
would put a plant label in their yard. When visitors see my yard they
think I am quite eccentric. It must be the plant labels because there is
nothing else eccentric about me! I think it was also said that people that
grow unknown iris in their gardens may someday become iris specialists and
start keeping up with the names. So maybe unknown iris are not so bad
after all. I still have two or three unknowns in my yard and keep them
just because I like them.
Randy
> gar
deners who are interested in a good inexpensive plant than a named plant.
> While there are certainly seedlings that should never be shared, there are a
> large number of seedlings that do grow well but that are not introduced
> because they are not sufficiently distinct.
>
> I am certainly guilty of sharing seedlings, but I do destroy seedlings that
> do not deserve garden space. These seedlings are only shared on request
> (usually a strong request) and the recipient is fully aware that the plants
> are seedlings and will not be introduced by me. I also know that the
> recipients are not interested in named cultivars and shares plants with like
> individuals. While this will increase the pool of unknowns, how different
> is this from selling "unknowns" at the club sale?
--------------------------- ONElist Sponsor ----------------------------
Accurate impartial advice on everything from laptops to table saws.
<a href=" http://clickme.onelist.com/ad/Productopia ">Click Here</a>
------------------------------------------------------------------------
