Iris fragrance... sort of.
iris@hort.net
  • Subject: Iris fragrance... sort of.
  • From: P* A* <p*@mindspring.com>
  • Date: Mon, 17 May 2010 06:23:28 -0400 (EDT)
I was debating whether to mention this or not but maybe as a group we can sway Hybridizers/Introducers opinion on this.  And maybe I have some clout now that many of you have seen my seedlings I've been working on and yet have still not Introduced a single one.

During my breeding efforts I have been purchasing new varieties over the years for one reason or another.  Some were based on the applauded, described or registered fragrance.  

I came across one variety I had purchased last year (not a 2009 Intro though) that had a distinct fragrance when it bloomed.  Granted the description on their website has no mention of a fragrance and it is not registered to have one.  This variety is from a well know Hybridizer.  And no, no matter how much you ask I will not tell you who it is but I have seen them post in this forum.  That also means I cannot tell you which variety it is either.  That is beside my point.  

The flower is nice, a little different than others I've seen recently, but not so spectacular that others from the same cross or near sibs could not have been chosen with a better fragrance I am most sure.

So you ask... What does it smell like?  Well I smelled it and I asked a friend to smell it for me and tell me what they think.  We both agreed without a doubt... STALE CIGARETTE SMOKE. And you would never guess from the registered name that it smells like that and actually the name suggests quite the opposite.

Lots of things come to mind why a hybridizer would introduce one like this.  The obvious is to sell it an make money.  The second might be they just aren't paying attention to fragrance as a selectable character.  Third, they might actually be a smoker and can't smell it...haha.  Fourth, maybe they thought they could get away with it (so far they have, right).  I think those might be fair assessments for starters.

However, if a fragrance like this has not been caught during the seedling evaluation stage, it certainly could if the effort was made during the production phase or just prior to it and it's Registration.

Yes, I understand some may like that smell and waft nostalgic on the good- ol'-days-way-back-when.  However, if one is going to Register and Introduce a flower that people are bound to want to smell this should be checked.  And if a hybridizer wants to Introduce it knowing that is smells like that they should have the guts to describe it that way.

I'm merely making a simple request for Hybridizers/Introducers to check their fragrances and just be honest.  People are paying you good money to purchase your plants and make their decisions on what to buy.  They put their trust in you based on your judgement and experience.

Nuff said on my part.

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