CAT:Springhill/Customer Beware
- To: Multiple recipients of list <i*@rt66.com>
- Subject: CAT:Springhill/Customer Beware
- From: "* A* M* <w*@Ra.MsState.Edu>
- Date: Tue, 10 Jun 1997 07:38:39 -0600 (MDT)
Last night I finally got around to looking at some of the
'junk'mail that came while I was away in Michigan at the convent.
A Springhill Nurseries catalog, Tipp City, OH was in the stack. On the
back cover is pictured a collection of three Japanese irises they are
offering. These 'cultivars' are TEMPLE BELLS, MT. FUJI, and ROYAL ROBES.
I saw immediately their first error. When I first started growing irises
in the early 60's, I grew TEMPLE BELLS, a great apricot bearded iris by
the 'father' of pink irises, Dave Hall, intro'd in 1952.
I decided to verify the above and then check on the other two.
Well, there is a JI named MOUNT FUGI (not MT.FUGI) intro'd in 1936 by WADA
and from the Check List, it is white as the catalog picture shows. I would
doubt its being the correct cultivar.
ROYAL ROBES by Springhill is not found in the Check Lists.
However, there are two listings for ROYAL ROBE, one is a JI by Scheep in
1926, and the other is a TB by Kirk in 1927. The descriptions for both
are vague. Again, I would question Springhill's ROYAL ROBES.
I checked their Web site (http://www.springhillnursery.com) and
left a message for them in their catalog order section.
If you got a catalog from Springhill, please send them a message
that their information is flawed.
Some of you may remember several years ago, Wayside Gardens was
listing Louisiana Irises as 'Native American' Irises and not Louisianas.
After receiving complaints from AIS members and the Board, they changed
their nomenclature. It is true LA's are native American, but so are lots
other irises.
A great disservice is done by these companies when they tag a
plant without consulting a plant society, thereby causing all sorts of
confusion with cultivar names.
Walter Moores
Enid Lake, MS 7/8
