A History of Daylily – Tom and Rose McClarren
A History of Daylily
Cultivation on Bellerive
Written by Heather Stout
As you walk along Bellerive, you
have surely glanced at the flower
bed in the parkway on the south
side of the 1100 block. You may or
may not know the history of this
bed and the gardeners who
cultivated it. It’s a tale of tulips,
irises, and daylilies, mixed with a
passion for flowers. A passion that
once involved a basement filled
with hundreds of seedlings and a
quest to cultivate a bloom with the
desired traits, lasting only a day.
This brings me to the Greek word
Hemerocallis, which translates to
“beauty for a day,” which is a
fitting name for this flower.
Tom and Rose McClarren are the
neighborhood’s daylily experts,
which you may or may not be
aware of unless you stopped to ask
them about the plants in their yard
and the parkway flowerbed. Sitting
at their kitchen table on a very hot
morning in June, the McClarrens
shared some of the many
newspaper and magazine articles
about their flowerbeds and
hybridized flowers.
It all began with planting tulips in
the parkway across from their
home, which in time expanded to
include various bearded irises.
Adding to the tale, the couple
happened upon a flower show for
July 2021 the Iris Society. The McClarrens….
left the iris show with six
rhizomes. Shortly after purchasing
the rhizomes, they joined the Iris
Society and began learning how to
hybridize flowers. And in turn, the
McClarrens interest in hybridizing
began to expand beyond irises.
Today, the flower bed in the
parkway is filled with beautiful
plants displaying color throughout
the year. But by far, one of the
most colorful displays happens at
this time of year, when the
daylilies are in bloom. The
daylilies line the entire length of
the flowerbed and include many
shapes, sizes, and colors.
The McClarren’s daylilies are a
story spanning several decades,
many of which were hybridized
and planted during that time,
including over ten registered
varieties carrying the names of
family and loved ones.
When the McClarrens joined the
Iris Society, many members were
also members of the Daylily
Society. As they were further
introduced to daylilies, they, in
turn, joined the Daylily Society.
As they got more involved, the
McClarrens began focusing their
hybridizing efforts on daylilies and
harvesting the seeds. Tom stated,
“at one point, I had 2,500 plants”
growing in the basement, which
was filled with 144 grow lights to …..
support the thousands of seedlings.
He pointed out that with
hybridizing, among the hundreds
of seeds, you may only have one
or two viable varieties with the
desirable traits you seek, such as
color, petal-type, shape, and size.
With much experimentation and
fostering, you perhaps land upon a
variety you want to grow and
maintain. And perhaps take it a
step further and register the plant
for perpetuity.
Over the years, the McClarrens
registered over ten varieties with
the American Daylily Society. A
simple online search will provide
you with daylilies registered to the
McClarrens and where you can
purchase them.
The first daylily they registered
with the Hemerocallis Society is
Ariel Rose. Ariel Rose has a pink
bloom with a ring of darker pink
towards the middle of the petals,
and a green center to
support the thousands of seedlings.
He pointed out that with
hybridizing, among the hundreds
of seeds, you may only have one
or two viable varieties with the
desirable traits you seek, such as
color, petal-type, shape, and size.
With much experimentation and
fostering, you perhaps land upon a
variety you want to grow and
maintain. And perhaps take it a
step further and register the plant
for perpetuity.
Over the years, the McClarrens
registered over ten varieties with
the American Daylily Society. A
simple online search will provide
you with daylilies registered to the
McClarrens and where you can
purchase them.
The first daylily they registered
with the Hemerocallis Society is
Ariel Rose. Ariel Rose has a pink
bloom with a ring of darker pink
towards the middle of the petals,
and a green center.
Ariel Rose registered to McClarren
Another named variety is Cheeks
Blushing. Cheeks Blushing has six
petals, the three outer petals are
cream-colored, and the three inner
petals are pink. The three pink
petals have a cream-colored line
running down the center of the
petal to the flower’s green center.
Cheeks Blushing registered to McClarren
A third named variety is Bellerive
Kiss A Me. The Bellerive Kiss A
Me is a white petaled lily with a
pink circle at the center of the
petals and a green center.
Bellerive Kiss A Me registered to McClarren
The next time you pass the ….
flowerbed in the parkway along
the south side of the 1100 block,
you will now know a bit of the
rich history behind some of the
daylilies tended by Rose and Tom
McClarren.
For additional information, you’re
invited to reach out to the
McClarrens. They have a wealth of
knowledge and experience to
share. You can reach the
McClarrens by emailing the
Grand-Bates Rag. The email
address is at the bottom of each
page of this newsletter. Your
message will be forwarded.
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