A year and and half ago (November 2016) I visited north America. Before my trip I contacted a grower in the north of USA, during the last days of the shipping season, wishing to make an order I can take back home. They were patient and kind enough to dig the rhizomes *late* and ship it to a US address. The first year only 1 out of 15 bloomed. This spring only 2. One bloomed true to name and the other, which I was so eager to see bloomed as a purple plicata instead of the red Frontier Days.
I contacted the seller asking for its real identity and asking if they still grow FD. Besides giving me a wrong identification, to my great disappointment they offered to refund me, claiming I will probably get the same wrong iris again. To my question if they can't identify it by bloom, they wrote their irises bloom only mid June and insisted on the refund.
A year and a half of anticipation (not to mention the hope of posting the first photo in the data base;)and this is their solution...I know you understand best how upsetting it is. I'm in the middle of correspondence with them and not sure how to handle the situation. I'll be in Canada in 2 weeks (I still haven't mentioned that to them) and wondering if its legitimate and realistic to ask for another Hybrid I have on my wish list, or even a few others I'll be glad to pay for, as well as for shipping (to a US address that can forward it to me?). It is still pre-season with them... so I guess that complicates things.
What is your experience with similar situations? What would be the best way to go about it? Any advise or thought would be appreciated. Thanks!
Is there any reliable grower who will ship (preferably to Canada) at this time of year?




My NOT Frontier Days

Hello Mesopotamica,
It is always disappointing when you wait months or years for an iris to flower and it turns out to be something else.
I'm not sure that I understand the story completely but if you want a replacement iris for the one they got wrong and you are willing to pay for postage, I would take the refund and place a new order for what you want. Financially, it works out the same and you don't have the stress of corresponding and negotiating with them.

Most growers only dig in summer after the irises have had a chance to rest from blooming. Do you need to buy it now because they don't or can't ship to Isreal? I know sometimes the certification to import can be expensive.

Any reputable seller would send you the correct cultivar if it were not for the importation costs. Since they are saying you might get the wrong one again it tells me they think they may have the incorrect cultivar growing in their fields.

The support you get from the seller depends a lot on who you bought from. If you can tell us who you bought from someone here may be able to tell you if their can be relied upon. Your best bet may be to accept the refund as disappointing as that is.

Have you checked to see if anyone else sells that cultivar? If you can find it anywhere else you could try calling them and begging the favor of an early dig and shipping to Canada, then get the refund from the original seller.

It's discouraging and frustrating when this happens but it does happen. Even the best sellers make mistakes. I'm sorry you ane having to deal with this!

And lastly, i'm glad you stopped by, I hope you find an answer that is helpful!

And if you take the refund, and will be in Canada, you could buy from a Canadian vendor. I believe Chuck Chapman is one of the best in that country. He's a great hybridizer, too.
http://www.chapmaniris.com/

Thank you for the advices and fresh thoughts. After reading a bit more through the threads I just wrote them that reading in forums gave me the impression that reliable sellers are more attentive if a human error was made. For some reason it worked like magic, and I'm happy to tell we are now really "talking", so whatever the outcome may be - I feel better for getting a personal response instead of laconic and indifferent replies.
I'm also waiting for a reply from Chuck Chapman.
So again - thank you, for the sympathy and ideas, as well as amazing photos that made me expand my taste from historics only to include the modern ones as well (my wallet is not that thankful, though ).

Iris bismarckiana in its natuaral habitat, on a windy day

Bismarckiana is unique and beautiful.

with Robin..

too!