Hi guys,
Years ago the Sempervivum Society was given the duty as International Registrar for Sempervivum and Jovibarba. Peter Mitchell contacted me and we went over a list of Sempervivum and Jovibarba cultivars then in cultivation in the US (many had not reached Europe) and he came out with a list of the then known cultivars from both sides of the Atlantic. This was published in the early '80's but of course since then we have had 4X that many cultivars introduced to the market as were on this original list. With the demise of the Sempervivum Society there is no international board for just Sempervivum.
So now we sort of resort to the "old rules", that a plant was "officially introduced" when it appeared in a printed list (or in the electronic world) offered for sale in a web site. The other option is to have the name published in an article in a publication. Either forms of publication can establish a cultivar name in the absence of a body to do so.
Naming plants for deceased people does not require permission but you should always request the permission of living people to have a plant named for them. So, the plants I named 'Polly Bishop' and 'Helen Payne' both deceased can be named but naming one 'Lynn Smith' would require her permission.
The names for my other new cultivars were ones I thought others would not use so the chances for confusion would be minimal. I do not think naming a Jovibarba and Sempervivum with the same cultivar name is a good idea. Too many chances for confusion even though it is legitimate under the present rules. For one, the two genera CAN cross, although not easily. Of course some authorities lump them in a single genus.
Opinions??
Kevin
