On May 15, 2000 - Hemerocallis 'The Bronx,' made its debut at The New York Botanical Garden today. The beautiful new daylily hybrid was named for its urban hometown in celebration of Borough President Fernando Ferrer's designation of the daylily as the new official flower of the Bronx.

The Garden's daylily expert Mike Ruggiero hybridized 'The Bronx' from parent plants 'Becky Lynn,' and 'Beauty to Behold.' The seed formed from crossing these daylilies grew into a hardy plant with unusual color and good branching and foliage. "'The Bronx' has a gorgeous, big flower, 5½ inches across when it's open, and a great combination of colors, with coral pink on the outside and a greenish yellow inside," said Ruggiero.

Borough President Fernando Ferrer made the official declaration of the daylily as flower of the Bronx at an outdoor ceremony at The New York Botanical Garden. Presenting the Borough President with the new daylily 'The Bronx,' Garden President Gregory Long said, "The daylily is a fitting flower to represent the Bronx; its roots in this borough are a horticultural legend."

The modern daylily was hybridized in the Bronx at The New York Botanical Garden through the research efforts of Dr. Arlow B. Stout working throughout the 1930's, 40's and 50's. He was the Garden's most prolific plant breeder and geneticist, creating through his hybridization program the modern daylily. Over 25 years he developed the Stout daylilies which became the parents of more than 30,000 colorful new daylily varieties. The culmination of his work was the first dark red daylily. Now, thanks to Dr. Stout, daylilies come in every color except pure blue, and have
become one of the most popular garden perennials.

Today, the Garden's daylily hybridization continues this proud tradition. Mike Ruggiero crosses daylily hybrids and nurtures them over several seasons to discover the resulting bloom and determine if the new hybrid is a worthy plant. 'The Bronx' was the best of a "brood" of 200 seedlings, and will join the hundreds of colorful daylily hybrids featured along the Garden's Daylily Walk.

Although an individual daylily bloom does last literally for only one day, each plant sports flower after flower. Most people recognize daylilies as the tough and lovely orange blooms along Northeastern roadsides. At the Garden, the diverse shapes and colors of daylily hybrids displayed in full mid-July bloom are a striking sight.