It appears that some of the explanations outlined earlier regarding JEBC and Endless Heart and patents etc. have created some discontent, and perhaps some confusion. I will try to explain and clarify with the next few paragraphs ....
Perhaps it is being trite to say ,'Welcome to the modern world' ... but just as our daylilies have evolved in form and performance and colours and patterns over the decades, so too has the environment in which daylilies are propagated, distributed and sold. There exists still, direct sales from breeders and hybridizers, as there are still 'boutique' nurseries that propagate and grow and retail daylilies to enthusiasts like ourselves. However, the majority of plants are sold to 'average gardeners' and to those who are not really gardeners, but who want to simply decorate their yards and driveways and patios.
None of this - the selling aspect itself - is likely to change within the next few decades. 'Big-Box' stores; national - even international - mail-order operations (Catalogue & Internet), and huge retail nursery locations are also part of our gardening experience nowadays. Keep uppermost in mind that for the customer buying the daylily, the transaction is essentially the same for any of the above. You select the plant you want. You pay for that plant. You take it with you and you plant it to enjoy it (Or breed with it). We daylily enthusiasts are usually independent and resourceful and know how to find and where to research new introductions; sources for older cultivars, etc.
Not so for the average gardener who buys somewhat differently. Usually depending on visual appeal and written description at point of sale (Or website/catalogue) ..... Therefore, forgetting about the 'serious' daylily collector and/or breeder, (Ourselves!) for that average gardener or yard decorator the plant has to be on site, have an appealing appearance (In bloom; in a pot; colourful info/ID tag attached; etc.) to encourage them to complete the purchase. Thus tens of thousands of plants - potted & bare-root - have to be available each spring for these retailers across North America. Over the most recent few decades, the scale of our daylily trade, the scale of daylily marketplace, has evolved dramatically.
However, for us enthusiasts, with the exception of Internet auctions and sales, not much has changed .... Not much is likely to change - if we don't want it to.. Consequently, we can pretty well ignore 'renaming + patenting + trademarks + etc.' and it won't really affect most of what we do in our pursuits of daylily collecting, breeding and simply enjoying.
I will get back to this thread another time to expand upon these latter terms for those who do want to have a more complete understanding and perspective.
