Press Releases

2005 "ALL-AMERICAN" DAYLILY TITLES AWARDED TO TWO NEW OUTSTANDING PERFORMERS

GRAIN VALLEY, MISSOURI — August 2004 ... The All-American Daylily Selection Council (AADSC) just announced the 2005 additions to its growing family of All-American daylily winners. 'Red Volunteer,' a striking crimson, is the 2005 winner in the Exhibition category, and 'Miss Mary Mary,' (pp#10975) a petite gold, won in the Landscape category. These two newest All-Americans join a select group of just ten cultivars that have been awarded the coveted All-American title since the AADSC test program began in 1985.
The All-American title is granted only to those rare daylily varieties 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. Since 1989, AADSC has operated a network of daylily test sites throughout the United States and has collected data on over 50 performance characteristics.
In 2001, rust resistance was added as one of the key test criteria. In selecting for "bulletproof" performance, the AADSC has eliminated many of the highly susceptible varieties from its program and focused on identifying and promoting the most rust-resistant daylily varieties. The 2005 All-American varieties are tried and true cultivars whose test scores earned them the AADSC's top honor. Both 2005 winners offer a unique combination of beauty, performance and flexibility making them a superior addition to any garden.

'Red Volunteer,' a velvety, crimson beauty, has striking eye-appeal. Majestic-sized 7-inch blooms atop 29 to 33-inch tall stems, this daylily provides a stately presentation for mid-to back border placement. The scapes are strong, very well-branched and produce plentiful, rich, and tailored-form blooms. 'Red Volunteer', a rust resistant beauty, blooms mid-season and continues its deep, rich color display for six to eight weeks.

'Miss Mary Mary,' a look-alike for its parent plant, 'Stella de Oro,' performs with a blooming habit like 'Stella,' but is more heat tolerant and rust resistant than its well known parent. Very early in the season, 'Miss Mary Mary' offers single-petalled, small, gold blooms on 12 to 17-inch stems. Then fluffy, double petalled blooms begin appearing with increasing number on repeat bloom scapes throughout the summer and until frost. A wonderfully compact border plant, 'Miss Mary Mary' is 12 to 16 inches tall by 18 to 22 inches wide and has grassy winter dormant foliage. It offers excellent rust resistance, is cold hardy and heat tolerant, and displays a near continuous blooming performance.

The soaring popularity of daylilies, combined with the bewildering profusion of varieties and growing characteristics, demanded the development of a standard for daylily excellence. The All-American Daylily Selection Council, organized to address this demand, now coordinates a testing program, which evaluates daylilies on over 50 performance characteristics across a nationwide network of test sites. This rigorous testing has produced comprehensive and surprising results. Who would have thought, for example, that a daylily bred in Texas would have been a top bloomer in Wisconsin, or that one from Missouri would perform so well in the heat of Southern California?

There are more than 48,000 daylilies registered, bred in at least 25 states, by hundreds of individual hybridizers. Using its elaborate testing program, the AADSC sorts through the thousands of registered daylilies and awards to only the top performers across five USDA hardiness zones the coveted title of "All American."

Each year's scores are measured against all previous test data in order to ensure that the All Americans are truly the best performers in their color category. Daylilies are tested for at least two years, with All-American finalists being grown for another three to five years in open field conditions before being announced.

2005 marks another year of new All-American daylily winners offering gardeners throughout the country a steady stream of these tried and tested perennial beauties. Gardeners nationwide can expect to see these proven daylilies at their garden center and grow them successfully in virtually any garden in America. Backed by scientifically proven superior performance nationwide, All-American Daylilies are becoming America’s preferred perennial.

'Black Eyed Stella,' the first to receive the All-American title in 1994, is best known for its landscape performance as a nearly continuous bloomer. The two 1998 winners, 'Lullaby Baby' and 'Starstruck,' were honored for exquisite beauty and balance in the Exhibition Category.

'Bitsy,' one of three 2002 winners, combined a petite personality with powerful performance and is one of the longest blooming varieties the AADSC has encountered in 12 years of testing. 'Leebea Orange Crush' is one of the rare daylilies exhibiting such balanced performance that it won in both the Landscape and Exhibition categories and commands attention in any setting. 'Judith,' a large vigorous variety, with its profusion of glowing pink blossoms, won in the Exhibition category and is a trophy in anyone's garden.

Two top performers were named 'All-American' in 2003 – 'Frankly Scarlet,' a vibrant red that represents a breakthrough in red daylily breeding due to its ability not only to sustain but to build color intensity in the heat – and 'Plum Perfect,' a clear, vibrant bloom with a striking symmetry of foliage that offers purity of color, vigorous growth, multiple bloom periods and wide adaptability.

One of the 2004 All-Americans is 'Lady Lucille,' a large, showy bloom that starts off just as most other daylilies are winding down with clusters of flashy 5 to 6-inch blooms that go from summer into fall. While the other 2004 winner, 'Chorus Line,' offers a mass of blooms that provide a splendid display of color with fragrant, well formed, wide ruffled pink petals atop well-branched 18 to 22-inch scapes.

The new 2005 All-American daylilies will be widely available, along with the other ten All-Americans, in Spring 2005 at garden centers nationwide. They will be easily located by the colorful banners, posters, and bench cards, and will be displayed in an attractive blue pot featuring a large, informative booklet style plant tag. The entire collection of All-American winners offers the shopper a full dozen premium choices for creating their own All-American daylily garden.

Garden centers can order 'Red Volunteer' and 'Miss Mary Mary' (pp# 10975) plus all the previous winners grown in the distinctive blue pot from: El Modeno Gardens (CA), McCorkle Nurseries (GA), Pride's Corner Farms (CT),
Zelenka Nursery (MI) and MerryGro Farms (FL). Bare root plants will be available from American Daylily & Perennials (MO), Greenwood Daylily (CA) and Oakes Daylilies (TN).

For more information about the 2005 All-American daylilies, 'Red Volunteer' and 'Miss Mary Mary,' or to download high-resolution photos of them, please visit the AADSC website www.daylilyresearch.org. You may also contact Jo Roberson at (816) 224-2852.