Have you ever purchased a daylily just because of its name? Or maybe the name was just enough to sway you into a “yes” or “no” decision? With nearly 70,000 registered daylilies out there, and many more unregistered (or “garden names,” as they’re often called), the names range from funny to ethereal to well, downright uninspiring.
Folks have named their hybrid daylily creations after books and authors (“Moby Dick,” “Gulliver’s Travels”), movies and movie stars (“Star Wars,” “Lion King”), musicians and other celebrities (“Tupak Amaru”), politicians and their spouses (“Abraham Lincoln,” “Betty Ford”), places (“Baffin Bay Beauty,” “African Midnight”), desserts (“Caramel Fudge,” “Peach Pudding”), and drinks (“Pina Colada,” “Mulberry Wine”).
Then there is the always-popular and yummy-sounding category of pie names: 73 of ‘em registered – from “Apple Peaches Pumpkin Pie” at one end to “Windham Cherry Pie” at the other. Not sure why daylilies and pie seem to go hand-in-hand, but there you are.
In another common category, daylilies are often named after people unknown to the rest of us – someone’s mother, father, grandparent, child, grandchild – you get the picture. While this certainly has great meaning to the person thus honored, these names usually don’t inspire us one way or the other. At least they don’t do it for me, except for the ones named after great hybridizers.
There’s also the names that, to my mind, are sort of generic and formal; I have some of these – “Crown Royal,” “Royal Heritage,” “Benchmark.” These sound to me like names of dinnerware or flatware sets, but they are attached to very beautiful blossoms.
And if you search for a name beginning or ending with any of the daylily colors, of course you will find plenty: 619 names that begin with “Pink,” and 334 that end that way. At least those names give you some clue about the flower itself.
My favorite category is the unusual/humorous/downright odd names (and if you know me personally, you’re probably thinking, well, THAT figures!). “Auntie’s Lipstick Kisses.” “Big Boy Bubba.” “Oliver Dragon Tooth.” “Cathy Cute Legs.” And the first truly odd daylily name I ever ran across: “Nekkid Woman on a Tractor.”
But would you buy that last one? Or the one called “Varicose Veins?” Or “Butt Ugly?” Or "Weber's Litterbox?" Yes, those are registered daylilies too! … I have to admit those names would stop me in my purchasing tracks. They'd have to be mighty beautiful to overcome those names.
This fall we’ll be dividing and lining out some of our three-year-old seedlings and putting names to them. It’s fun to come up with new names, but surprisingly difficult at the same time. It’s got to feel like it fits the flower. So far we’ve decided on these: “Berried Treasure,” “Dulcimer Music,” “Voodoo Science,” “Santoshi,” and the best one – “Princess Zippy,” for my favorite 5-year-old. See? – I’m doing it too! (And yes, that's it at the top of the post! She picked it out herself!)
To answer a question with a question, how do you get a flower and name registered? How do you prove it's a whole different kind? And nobody's checking names like they do at the RMV for naughty license plate requests?
ReplyDeleteJill, there is a lengthy and complicated registration system handled by the American Hemerocallis Society ... I haven't gone through it myself and don't feel inclined to do so (but reserve the right to change my mind about that, of course ;-). Plus, naturally, there's a fee for each new one registered. Part of the process is listing the "family tree" of your new daylily, but I don't know if they could possibly prevent someone from re-registering an already existing variety ... I'm also not sure why someone would want to go through all the hassle and expense to do that.
ReplyDeleteAs for the no-naughty names, actually there are some that are borderline ... "Crotchless Panties" comes to mind, which was registered by a very-well-respected hybridizer just to make a point about what he felt were inconsistent name rules, from what I understand. The few glimpses I've taken at the incredibly picky and complicated name rules put forth by the AHS was enough to put me off, for sure. The inner sanctum of the daylily world looks to me a lot like the in-crowd of the American Kennel Club, or any other group that considers themselves highly select ... frankly, not my crowd. I'm just happy to be growing them and sending them out to new homes!