KANSAS CITY, MISSOUR
I- May 15, 2000 . . .
An unprecedented three daylilies, bred by three different
hybridizers, have earned "All-American" status from the
All-American Daylily Selection Council. Reserved for those
rare, field-tested daylilies that meet the most rigorous
performance standards, the Selection Council will announce
the names of these new "All-American" daylilies and distribute
color photos of them in the summer of 2001. By spring of
2002, the "All-American" award winning daylilies will be
formally introduced and distributed to garden and landscape
professionals, as well as the general public through independent
and mass market garden centers.
The All-American Daylily Selection Council (AADSC), based
in North Carolina's Blue Ridge Mountains, coordinates the
testing program which evaluates daylilies on over 50 performance
characteristics. Among those are bloom and foliage beauty,
plant vigor, bloom sun fastness, growth form and balance,
fan increase, disease resistance, length and intensity of
bloom period, and zone hardiness. The benchmarks for the
evaluation process are the 6,000+ cultivars that AADSC has
evaluated over the past decade. Daylilies seeking "All-American"
designation are tested for at least two years, under code,
and in test sites throughout the United States and Canada.
The "All-American" status is granted to those daylily cultivars
that have shown superior performance across at least five
USDA hardiness zones. The AADSC "All-American" daylily award
differs from others in that its results are based on rigorous
scientific methodology.
Today, there is no other daylily test program worldwide
that approaches the rigor and sophistication of the AADSC.
The AADSC has screened or tested 6,000 daylilies vying for
the "All-American" designation at 20 sites located in USDA
Hardiness Zones 2 to 10, stretching from Manitoba, Canada
to Naples, Florida.
The popularity of daylilies, especially the All American-designation
daylilies which are improved hybrids with performance verification,
is just beginning to grow. With their mix of beauty, tested
performance and wide utility, industry experts predict better
and better cultivars and growing popularity. This will likely
generate true excitement among gardeners, landscape professionals
and do-it-yourself home landscapers. For more information
about the new "All-American" daylilies, please contact Mary
McLoughlin at (616) 698-0748.
