Does anyone know the relationship or contract terms between a hybridizer and a vendor when a vendor agrees to introduce a variety for a hybridizer? For example, does the hybridizer receive a percentage of sales for a certain number of years? Does the hybridizer get paid a lump sum up front? Thanks in advance!

I don't Know but Lucy may. @irisarian Or you could contact someone like Eagle Iris Farm. They are selling Carol Coleman's irises after Carol had a serious stroke and closed her vendor site. I have a few irises recently introduced by Hugh Stout that are not his creations so he may be able to help. It may be a different arrangement for each vendor/hybridizer. I hope you get some ans.

each contract is different. we get a 2 year percentage, but I am more interested in distribution.

Bonnie and Lucy, thanks for the responses. I figured each contract would be different... a bit surprised yours is for 2 years... I would have guessed longer. Thanks again.

Distribution is most important for me. I am not hybridizing to make money, but then the money is with the TBs.

our original person & we had an agreement for 3 years, so 2 is not strange. Prices go down very quickly.

Lucy,
1) Is it hard to get set up with a distributor?
2) What would be a fair percentage?
3) Do you send the distributor your iris and they grow them, or do you send out to customers?
4) If you send them out, how many do you start with your first year?

Thank you!

It can be difficult to find a distributor, they have their own plants to sell. t is best to know them or someone who does. They grow the plants to see if They like them & send them out. that is the whole idea of hving someone do that work & why they get a percentage.

Our first person had distribution as a business. When they retired we had to find someone else & they know we are mainly interested in getting the plants our there & not interested in money, so will send our plants as 'extras' on other orders to get them destributed as well as filling orders for them. No money you say? That is not the whole idea. If you are interested in making money, sell them yourself. People are interested in known hybridizers & will not take a chance on a new one.

What type of vendor would you use? Do they just sell plants? Do they sell irises of their own? our first started selling for club hybridizers & then started producing MDBs on their own. Our present vendor sells their own plants & sells a few plants for other people they know, but is not a huge operation for other people.

Even Mid America sells for other people in their climate. A vendor in other climates than your own would certainly have to grow your plants for several years to see how they 'do'. Could you find a vendor in your climate?

Start as we did by sending plants to the national AIS conventions. You not only meet people, but you see how your plants grow in different climates. If you grow TBs instead of medians like we do it is really necessary.

First let me say thank you Lucy.

Im just getting info as I'm just starting this adventure.

I like the idea of someone else sending them out and doing the work, I would like to focus on hybridizing ( just getting started ).
As for making money it's always nice and it would help offset cost of materials, but would just like to see irises out there if they're worthy to be introduced.

AIS and Regional conventions I think is a must, you can get a good consensus what others and regions think about the seedling, Especially for a new hybridizers. (although it is up to the hybridizers if they want to introduced it or not ).

As stated above I'm just getting started, it would be 4 years, 3 if I'm lucky before I would send in seedlings to conventions.

We do have several judges in our Iris club that I will be asking to look at seedlings and of course our shows before I would send any to National AIS conventions. They would have to grow it for 2 to 3 years before the convention. With all that said it would be 8 to 10 years before first introduction if I'm lucky.


Again very much Lucy.

.... a very interesting and informative thread. Thanks to the initial poster and those who replied

TBManOR said:.... a very interesting and informative thread. Thanks to the initial poster and those who replied

and

Asking club judges to help can be very useful. Do you have a specific project in mind.? With my SDBs I have been trying to get a true red amoena. You will note the photo of my Reddy Set, which is on all my posts, that the red does not entirely cover the falls. A friend from Neb. (now deceased) was trying the same thing & we exchanged seedlings. No luck.
Not everyone agreed with us. When Paul Black first saw RS as a seedling he complimented the nice white edge. When I told him that I was trying to remove the white edge, he looked at me like I had 2 heads.

I will add that we need new hybridizers.

.

Lucy, I love my Ready Set. Photographed yesterday.

Thank you.