Here is a brief explanation on some top awards given to a daylily. Use the link below to see more information on awards and the annual recipients of the awards:

https://daylilies.org/awards/

Stout Silver Medal

The highest award given to a daylily

The highest award a cultivar can receive is the Stout Silver Medal, given in memory of Dr. Arlow Burdette Stout, who is considered to be the father of modern daylily breeding in North America. This annual award–as voted by AHS Garden judges–can be given only to a cultivar that has first received the Award of Merit not less than two years previously.

Award of Merit

Established in 1950, this award is given to signify that a cultivar is not only distinctive and beautiful, but also performs well over a wide geographic area. The Award of Merit is the second step in the “Pyramid of Awards” and is on the path to competing for the Stout Silver Medal. The award is made each year to the twelve registered daylilies receiving the most votes by the garden judges under the following formula: A cultivar must receive votes from at least half of the regions, and not more than one-third of the total votes credited to a cultivar shall come from any one region. Below are the current years winners, and a link to the cumulative historical list.

Honorable Mention

Established in 1950, this award is the first official “stamp of approval” by the AHS, where good performance goes beyond the regional level.

To win, a cultivar must receive a minimum of fifteen votes achieve the HM. These votes must come from no fewer than four different AHS regions. In voting for this award, Garden Judges must cast their votes only for cultivars observed in their own region. Cultivars are nominated for the Honorable Mention by their hybridizers. To be eligible it must have been registered for at least three calendar years. The Awards & Honors Committee may also nominate a maximum of ten cultivars each year that have been previously overlooked. Hybridizers may nominate a cultivar a maximum of three times, though not necessarily in consecutive years. After its third nomination, a cultivar cannot be nominated by the hybridizer