This once, I am willing to overlook the fact that the AHS Email robin guidelines state:
Respect Individual Robin Member Copyrights: The copyright of each message sent to the Daylily robin belongs to the person who wrote the message. If a member posts a message including the words "Not for publication", or similar wording, that message may not be reproduced by anyone without permission. If such a phrase does not appear in the message, the message may be reproduced in the AHS Daylily Journal without prior permission. Any other individuals who wish to use such a message must first obtain written permission from the original author before this material may be used elsewhere for any other purposes other than 'personal archives.' This includes editors of newsletters of regional and local daylily clubs. Any individual violating the copyright of a robin member may be subject to discipline in accordance with provisions elsewhere in the guidelines.
No one asked for permission to copy my post sent to the email robin here , however, I am guessing that Fred was not aware that he should do this, and only wanted to share information with this group. I had agonized for days about whether to make an "official" post on this subject, and am thankful that a long time ago, a good friend and former AHS President had told me to never put anything in print without expecting that it might be quoted somewhere. That has come in handy more than once!
However, this posting has had a good and positive result. Word apparently got to the hybridizer that an official public comment had been made about his non compliance with AHS registration guidelines. Mr. Benz has been in touch with the AHS registrar and the registration of those past introductions is now in process. Please note that this information will not show on the AHS database until the next time that we upload new data, which may be in a few months.
Over my past four years as AHS President and the four years prior to that when I served as Awards and Honors chair, there have been hybridizers who have been in and out of compliance with registration. There have also been irate AHS members who have purchased cultivars they thought were registered and then found out they weren't. ( AHS cannot do anything about that! Check with the hybridizer.) The non compliance issue is one that we can only speculate about. Some cite financial issues, some claim to simply be forgetful, some get mad with AHS for whatever reason and just refuse to register their seedlings. It is important to realize that the majority of the registration guidelines are those that AHS must follow and they are rules set by ISHS.
Some may know that AHS will soon be hiring a new registrar, as our current registrar will be retiring. I can only hope that the new person will have the same excellent ability to deal with individuals in a positive manner and try to motivate them to register cultivars that are in commerce. IMHO, as stated earlier, it is fine to buy seedlings as long as both parties are aware that they are buying/ selling seedlings. But buyers who care about whether they are buying registered cultivars should ALWAYS CHECK the database before purchase, and if they can't find the name, ask the seller before purchase!
