Today we have added a new Cultivar Description Search at http://daylilydatabase.org/searches/description.asp and this new search page is also available from the Searches menu tab on every page of the site.

The new Cultivar Description Search is extremely easy to use while being very powerful in the results it yields. This search utility allows you to search a registered cultivar description using descriptive keywords, and/or to query those results with bloom size, and scape height, and year of registration. Enter one to four keywords or keyword phrases, and wrap them in quote marks ("keywords"). Then optionally select a range for bloom diameter, scape height, and registration year.

I recommend always wrapping you descriptive "keywords" in quotes. Do not wrap your numbers for range searches in quotes.

Immediately below you will see the results of five unique searches where I added one new search criteria each time. In my first search I wanted all cultivars that had "red" within the official description. This search resulted in 8,982 cultivars. My fifth search was more complex as I searched for all registered flowers that were red with a gold edge, and had a bloom diameter from 5" to 6", and a scape height from 20" to 25", and were registered in 2005. This complex search resulted in 6 cultivars that matched my search criteria.

-- "red" yields 8,982 matches.
-- "red" and "gold edge" yields 209 matches.
-- "red" and "gold edge" and diameter from 5" to 6" yields 134 matches.
-- "red" and "gold edge" and diameter from 5" to 6" and height from 20"
to 25" yields 45 matches.
-- "red" and "gold edge" and diameter from 5" to 6" and height from 20"
to 25" and registered in 2005 yields 6 matches.

What if you wanted to know all the flowers that have been registered since the year 2000 and have a bloom diameter of 12" or higher? You simply place the 2000 in the "from Registration Year" box and place 12 in the "from bloom diameter" box. Leave all of the other entry boxes blank and click the "submit" button. Your results will yield 12 cultivars matching your search criteria.

If you want only the flowers that are 12" or larger and only registered in the year 2000 then you would enter your search as you did above except place 2000 in the "from" and "to" registration year boxes. The results yield only
2 cultivars.

Sometimes you may not receive the results you initially anticipated. For example, you may want to know how many registered flowers are 2.5" and smaller. You simply enter 2.5 into the "To Bloom Diameter" box leaving all other boxes empty. You then receive 10,583 results. This is obviously wrong and you will immediately see that many of the cultivars returned have no bloom diameter recorded. The cultivars that do not show a bloom diameter are many of the older flowers that did not have a bloom diameter submitted when originally registered.. You should refine your search by being more selective. For instance, you should enter .5 into the "From Bloom Diameter"
box and enter 2.5 in the "To Bloom Diameter" box. This more refined search results in 816 cultivars.

The daylilies are just beginning to bloom in our Wake Forest, North Carolina garden. I am so happy to see new beauties showing their faces everyday.

Gretchen Baxter
AHS Registrar