Take this Dave's garden entry for example:
http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/195927/
Maria Landy, obviously a new type, so one would assume it will have a current patent. The tag clearly states Propagation prohibited, as do the other tags of fuchsias I purchased last year, and now want to add to my journal here, to try and keep track. Apparently the person that entered this here at Dave's made an error. How do we fix this ?
But more importantly in reading various entries here, it seems common practice to ignore patents and take cuttings at will...to increase a persons collection, trade, or keep starts through the winter. What's the deal ? I had always assumed this is something I could not do, so either I make sure my plants do make it through winter, or I'm outta luck. :(
( everybody but Firecracker did make it and wonderfully..never expected Firecracker to still be here, though I did save it..just in case. LOL ) Though it seems I didn't do anything the way the web sites say to. Good thing I didn't look or tell my plants I was doing it wrong.
How do I know which plants I can legally propagate, and which not ?
I took in a poor tender hanging fuchsia from a new neighbor, about Christmas time, when we met and she didn't want it. The poor thing was swinging in the cold, cold wind. It's doing good now, but is all one sided. I would like to take some starts and either fill in the bad side or start a whole new pot, but now that I'm looking closer, the whole business is confusing me.
Propagation prohibited question
I believe they distinguish between people making starts for their own purposes and people intending to make more plants in order to sell them. So if you are just trying to keep your plant going, I doubt you'd be in any trouble. On the other hand, it is a sad fact that many of the big nurseries are selling fuchsias as "annuals" and leading people to expect their fuchsias to die each year, thus creating a constant need to purchase replacements. When fuchsias are perennials which can live for decades.
It is very expensive to patent a new variety of plant, and like writing a book or creating a work of art, one would not want someone profiting from making copies without permission. So I am careful not to grow patented varieties. There are thousands of named varieties available without having to use patented cultivars.