Re: Naming of plants

>As a professional nurseryman, I thought that I should add a footnote on the
>recent discussion. Accurate naming of plants is a constant problem - the most
>relaible of sources can still be wrong, and we all obtain plants in good faith
>that the name is true. Often, without some photographic or other reference to
>guide us, checking the authenticity of the name is pretty near impossible -
>this is particularly true with historic irises, especially when descriptions
>in the earlier check lists are reduced to such useless gibberish as "TB-E-W1".
>Nothing irritates more than someone (who will usually consider themselves an
>"expert") coming along and saying that something is incorrectly labelled
>because it does not match the plant that they grow. Who is to say that my
>plant is right and their's is wrong? I will investigate any question set
>against my irises (and other plants), but unless I can find conclusive proof
>that the name is wrong and (better still) find out what the correct name is, I
>am inclined to stick to the name I know. If I have doubts, I will often append
>a "?" or "not sure about this name" into the catalogue or label description,
>but only if I have good reason - to do this will virtually render the stock
>unsaleable, because we all like to buy a plant with the correct name on it.
>We do make mistakes - thanks to Mike Lowe and Clarence Mahan, last year I
>discovered that the plant we have been selling as I.sibirica TROPIC NIGHT is
>in fact just an unnamed siberian seedling and not the true article. Fair
>enough - this year it will be labelled as such (and apologies to anyone who
>has bought it from us). And if someone is making an obvious error (deliberate
>or otherwise) such as the example quoted by Walter of someone selling JIs
>under a name previously used for a TB, then they should correct it at the
>earliest opportunity - that sort of basic mistake (especially amongst iris
>specialists) is inexcusable when the register is freely available. But it is
>very difficult when we have fifty thousand or more registered varieties, so
>many of which are so very similar to umpteen thousand others!
>
>Please do not label all nurseryfolk as disreputable ogres - we are trying to
>make a living and we do our best (especially with only 24 hours per day!).
>Anyone on this list who suggests that they are 100% certain of the name of all
>the irises in their collection is either a liar or a fool.
>
>Graham Spencer
>Croftway Nursery
>West Sussex, UK
>USDA zone 8
>croftway@aol.com
>You can see our 1998 iris list at http://members.aol.com/croftway/
Dear Graham: Your point is well taken, and we sympathize with you. I am not
the most popular iris judge in America, (but hopefully not the least
liked), because I am always ready to question the genuineness of an iris
name. We all can make errors. But there should always be the will to
correct them when they are pointed out. I am not selling anymore because of
the pressure and my age, but we have a wonderful flower, and I want to do
my part in keeping the names correct. ARe you getting the mild winter and
heavy rains too?  Lloyd Zurbrigg in Durham NC, about Zone 8.
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