What does registration mean to the hybridizer?
When you register your cultivar with the American Primrose Society you are recognized both in our historic list of cultivars, which extends back to the early 1800’s, and with a publication of your new cultivar in our international publication Primroses. So, a little bit of immortality and a bit of promotion. Also, we check through all known names for Primula hybrids to help avoid duplication of names in the records.
Why do we refer to a new plant as a cultivar? Is that different than a hybrid?
A hybrid refers to any seedling from a cross of two different plant species or hybrids. All of the seed of a given cross are the same hybrid, until one is selected and given a cultivar name.
A cultivar refers to an individual plant with a given name, and distinctive characteristic(s), different from all other seedlings in the cross.
The American Primrose Society registers cultivars, we do not register the entire cross and all the hybrids that came from it, unless they were distinctively different from one another and had been given cultivar names.
Does my registration protect my cultivar in way?
No, Registration has no legal standing in court other than as documentation of when you invented the cultivar and submitted it for registration.
IF you want to protect your cultivar from illegal propagation you must have a formal plant patent filed with the your country’s patent office.
IF you want to protect the name you have chosen for your Primula you need to file a trademark, again with your country’s patent office.
For more information on plant patents, and trademarks in the USA, check: https://www.uspto.gov/
How do I register my cultivar?
By filling out the registration form completely, and submitting it to the Cultivar Registrar, along with images of the plant showing different perspectives, to illustrate the different characteristics of your cultivar. The images we ask for are listed on the cultivar registration form, and are REQUIRED for a complete registration form. When you have completed your form and have your images, you can go to the online shop and purchase a cultivar registration; then you just attach the form and photographs as noted and send it in. You will be notified when your information is received and also if we have further questions.
Why so many measurements? and why in centimeters?
There have been easily over a thousand different cultivars of Primula sold over the last 200 years, it is best to have a standard and comprehensive set of measurements for each new cultivar. When you look at the complexity of the Primula types in the gardening world and you can see it takes a lot of information to keep things organized.
The American Primrose Society is an international society with members on most continents. Metric measurements are required because that is what the majority of the world uses as a system of measure. If you need help converting between centimeters and inches, just do an internet search for “metric conversion” and you’ll find plenty of sites to help you quickly convert your measurements!
When should I apply for my registration?
No need to rush! It is exciting to have a new cultivar you created, but in general an objective of 2-3 years of trialing with other Primula lovers before you apply to register your new cultivar is advised. This allows for objective opinions on the new plant, to support it, from those with personal experience growing your cultivar. It also allows time for a supplier to build up stock in case you were trying to make your plant available to a larger audience. Many hybridizers will tell you they are only getting an idea of the mature coloring and growth habit of their hybrids after about three years. So please do not rush the process, allow yourself time to see both the good and bad of any new cultivars that will have your name on them.
Welcome and we look forward to seeing what you create in with your Primulas!
Thank you for filling out the registration form and images.
Remember you can download the file and keep a copy for your records and then you do not need to fill out the entire form each time you register!