To answer the question "unregistered daylilies with names," any daylily that is unregistered is using a name that may be taken by ANYONE ELSE at any time and used to register another cultivar, so it is an unprotected name. And - this next part is IMHO, the "All-American Council" is a panel of self -designated experts who have formulated a marketing strategy to sell old, inexpensive ( most could be obtained for $5.00 from daylily vendors) daylilies to those who are just beginning with daylilies and average gardeners for higher prices than they would command elsewhere by designating them as "All-American" or even changing the name. When this council first came into existence, a whole bunch of AHS hybridizers revolted against their practice and that year, many of them chose to register a cultivar with the prefix "All American" just to make a statement. You may remember Van Sellers 'All American Chief' that won the Stout Medal. It was one of those that Van registered in protest!
For any of you who are AHS members, I spoke at the last National Convention this past June on the issue of registration. This was driven in part by the fact that there seems to be much confusion among our members regarding the role AHS plays as the ICRA ( International Cultivar Registration Authority) as the official registering body for the genus hemerocallis. Members sometimes complain to us about various issue such as the content of hybridizers catalogs, groups such as the Council mentioned in earlier posts, or perhaps a person has bought a cultivar that they later learn is not registered and then complain to AHS about it. AHS has NO control over such issues. If you see a hybridizer advertising a daylily that you believe to be unregistered, question THEM about it rather than complain to AHS, and remember it is your choice whether to purchase or not.
If you are an AHS member and were unable to attend the convention, perhaps you will take a couple of minutes to read my President's Message in the upcoming Fall Daylily Journal ( release date Sept. 10) where the highlights of my comments are written in the message highlighting AHS's position on many areas to do with registration.
One comment that can be made right here, right now is this: AHS STRONGLY endorses that all hybridizers fully complete the registration process before they put their new introductions into commerce. This avoids confusing buyers who might not understand if they find out later that what is being sold is unregistered and is hence only a seedling with an unprotected name that might be put into commerce by someone else!
With best wishes,
Julie Covington, President
American Hemerocallis Society
