I've read this post with interest and humor. uroboros5 is entirely right. This was done to market the company's best performers to sell to retail outlets. I'm glad to hear that the daylilies are not tissue cultures. TC daylilies can be just fine if the controls are very strict, but some of the TC's may not true to the cultivar. Most of these daylilies can be purchased from established home daylily growers for $5-10 per DF (double fan) which would be cheaper than most of the retailers charge for the daylilies potted. And although EL DESPERADO is a beaut when it blooms, I had it in my northern Illinois garden for 5 years before it bloomed--my mom had a fan of it that grew like gangbusters in her Indiana garden. I finally told it that if it didn't bloom that summer it was "out of here". It bloomed nicely that summer. :) The point is that even these "designer" daylilies won't all perform everywhere for everyone. BTW---HYPERION was registered in 1924, FRANS HALS in 1955, and SOUTH SEAS in 1993. So I would hope to see some improvement in almost 70 years of hybridizing. All are pretty northern hardy daylilies, but there are some stunning newer daylilies available for the same money (that you would pay at the retail outlet) that are just as hardy. I have many of these daylilies on the "designer" list that I have had for 10-20 years, but one by one most are getting replaced by daylilies that are even better-- bigger, more buds, better color, more vigorous in my garden, etc. Many have been hybridized to have tons of buds, to be large or small flowered, tall or short and are very northern hardy. You can find whatever you need for your particular garden space. Many are hybridized in your own neck of the woods--check out the AHS website for open garden locations to visit and see the flowers in person and for some of the gardens that sell daylilies. There are so many possiblities out there to choose from, go out there and visit some commercial daylily gardens. Happy gardening. Beth

Hi Debbie, I got one small order in today from Hawkvalley. 4 Dan Bachman Seedlings 1) WATCHYL LAVENDER BLUE x [(SDLG X LAVENDER HANDLEBARS) X LORITA WADSWORTH] 2) [(PEACOCK MAIDEN X KINDLY LIGHT) X (DEVILS ADVOCATE X TRAHLYTA)] X SKINWALKER 3) ITSY BITSY SPIDER x [IT'S SOUL TIME X (IT'S SOUL TIME X BORN YESTERDAY)] 4) BEWARE THE WIZARD X (PRAGUE SPRING X RACHEL MY LOVE) REETE PETITE SF (BONUS) All my seedlings have been in the unheated greenhouse for a couple of weeks now. In a week or so, they'll go out on the tables outdoors and then transplanted in the holding garden. Sharon

Wish I lived closer--I'd be there with excitement and cash. I'm really getting into this daylily thing! Ann

One of the reasons in the huge price disparity of new rose introductions and daylily introductions is the propagation method. Roses are usually budded. One plant can provide a lot of bud wood that is then grafted onto a rootstock that is grown by the thousands. Daylilies are produced by natural increase, which in the north can be slow. For example, a daylily we intend to introduce next year first bloomed in 2011 and now we have about 19 double fans. The scarcity would push the prices up. Here's another reason. Most roses introduced today are patented. That means that anyone who sells that rose legally must be licensed to sell it and a portion of the price goes back to the patent holder. The patent holder has the life of the patent to make a profit. Daylilies are not patented so as soon as the hybridizer sells a plant, that plant can be propagated by others and sold and the hybridizer gets nothing. So essentially, he has a very short window of time to recoup his costs of producing it. Prices for new introductions often stay high with the hybridizer, but on the secondary market, they drop quickly. Like others said, there are many sellers on the Lily Auction who have reasonably priced newer introductions. Daylily hybridization is an expensive business. There are not many hybridizers who do it to make a living. The sheer numbers of daylilies one must grow to get one worthy of introduction is mind boggling. Many hybridizers are growing 30,000+ seedlings every year to get a few to introduce. Nancy