The term has been "cussed ,and dis -cussed" ever since it was started to be used.....and like most things, everyone has an opinion...pro, or con, and everyone has a favorite "alternate"! To me, though, "historic" conveys the meaning of "old, and important"........important to just WHOM, though, depends on a persons "likes, and dislikes", I guess
.The "time frame" is also a much discussed topic....'sliding scale, fixed date, 30-40-50 years...we all have our 'personal' favorite. I think, if you do some "looking -to-buy", of those iris from 1984, you will find that, except for the "medal winners" ( and actually, the Cook-Douglas winner, Sapphire Jewel is DANG hard to find, IF you can!), most are pretty scarce, in commerce. I'll grant you that SOME iris that are introduced, have a "face" only a mother could ever love , and either were never introduced, or just plain didn't sell, but even the "real good ones"are getting rooted out of the propagation beds, to make room for something "newer". People's hearts are pretty fickle, and what we "Absolutely Love" this year,is "old hat", "out of date", and can end up in the compost in a real short time! Luckily there are those that like the old, the new, the short, the tall, and some, who like them ALL ! It would be a dull, dull, world if we were all the same.