For a mere $29.95, you can buy "A gift of heaven and nature that's as unique and beautiful as the person who receives it." This gift of heaven is a daylily, which, according to Abbey Press, is "the result of an amazing hybridization process that guarantees that it is the only one of its kind anywhere in the world." As part of the price of purchase, you also get to name this daylily after anyone you want, and Abbey Press will send you a certificate of registration.
One wonders if the Abbey Press people are this naive--or whether they merely think the public is.
Anyone who has ever grown a non-species plant from seed knows that it is absolutely "the only one of its kind anywhere in the world." Basic plant genetics guarantee this. Abbey Press's promise is akin to telling a new mother that they guarantee her child will be absolutely one of a kind--or like telling the sky that its snowflakes will be guaranteed to be unique. Hybridization is an amazing process, indeed--but not one anyone should pay a $30 premium for without an advance peek.
In the first place, most daylily hybridizers will tell you that only about 10% of the seedlings that they raise are really worth much. Reputable hybridizers will watch this 10% for a few years before they determine that they are garden worthy and offer them for sale. Many of that 10% will fall by the wayside, doomed to the oblivion of the compost heap. Others are judged to be unworthy of registration. These are the ones you can buy, unnamed, at very low prices. Others may be donated to highway departments or parks for beautification programs. They may be strong growers, but not interesting or "unique" enough to justify registration and a high price tag..
It appears that some grower has found a more profitable way to get rid of these excess seedlings.. Instead of bothering with the costly process of raising seedlings and evaluating them, they seem to be dumping them on the unsuspecting public at a premium price. Buyers may luck out and get a pretty plant. But it's also likely that they will get one not hardy in their area, or one too homely to display in the garden.
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