Posted: 08/05/2013 at 22:22
...those who have both these Geraniums will usually tell you that they are different plants, with some people preferring one over the other, sometimes relating features to Rozanne that others see in Jolly Bee and vice versa..... which might account for different growing conditions, but even when grown side by side, it seems they're not identical... or it could be plants have been reverse labelled...
I know my Rozanne is the genuine one as it was dug up for me directly from the garden at Blooms of Bressingham - the breeder - in my presence... 'Jolly Bee' was bought from one of the best nurseries in the country who I would expect to be clear on labelling... and prior to 2010, when selling of Jolly Bee became illegal...
I shall post photos on this thread as the season progresses of both plants, in case anyone is interested and wants to compare...
Here is some background to the dispute, as related by a US nurseryman...
...''Geranium 'Rozanne' was patented in the US on February 25, 1999. Less than a year later, in January 18, 2000, a similar seedling from Holland's Marco Van Noort hit the market, named Geranium 'Jolly Bee' PP. ...
All of us who had grown both varieties, agreed that they were extremely similar, but not exactly the same.
We chose to sell G. 'Rozanne'. Both varieties were issued a US patent, since Van Noort did not include Geranium 'Jolly Bee' as the closest similar variety on his patent application, which he was required to do by law, Blooms of Bressingham, which has the marketing rights to Geranium 'Rozanne' filed a patent infringement suit against Van Noort.
The bitter dispute lasted over seven years, and Van Noort recently gave up after spending over 200,000 Euros. DNA tests showed that the two varieties were indeed similar, but not the same....''
it's a pity it came to that I think... like so many others I would like to have seen both plants still for sale, so gardeners everywhere can make up their own minds...
