With the fast drop in temperature this past week, I think we can officially call it Fall. As we start emptying our annual flower pots our attention turns to outdoor fall decorating which wouldn’t be complete without several colorful mum plants to grace our front doors. These multi-flowering plants bloom for weeks providing lots of color thru the season. Our color choices at the stores seem to be limited to yellow, rust, purple and white but I bet there are other options to consider, especially if you grow them yourself. I’ve tried planting those I buy in the fall hoping they will return the following year which hasn’t happened yet. I bet there is reason for this that I might unearth in my research for this article.
Officially named Chrysanthemums, mums are flowering plants in the genus with the same name in the Asteraceae family. Countless varieties and cultivars exist in this plant family that is native to East Asia and Northeast Europe where they often symbolize death and are used exclusively for funerals or on graves. A city in China honors the flower with an annual Fall Chrysanthemum Festival where they drink wine made from the flower for longevity due to its health giving properties. In Japan, the Chrysanthemum is a symbol of the Emperor and the Imperial family with the flower often used on family crests. They also hold annual chrysanthemum exhibitions in the fall with the flower used to decorate food, dishware and art objects. Finally, in Australia, white mums are used in corsages to honor moms on Mother’s Day. In the US, the mum dates back to 1884 when the Enomoto Brothers of Redwood City, California grew the first chrysanthemums cultivated in America which is the official flower of Chicago and Salinas, CA. Several fraternities and sororities even use the mum as their official flower.
The answer to my earlier question is that chrysanthemums are both annuals and perennials coming as both florist mums which are annuals and hardy mums which are perennials. Florist mums have been cultivated to provide many different bloom forms including quills, pompons and spiders all of which show well in cut flower arrangements. They are grown in greenhouses and used only as indoor plants. The mums we buy fall into this category and will not overwinter but they still do nicely in fall arrangements if you plant them in good soil, water them well and grace them with as much sunlight as possible as the days shorten.
Hardy or garden mums are perennials in Zones 5-9 making them a questionable perennial choice in Zone 4 where we reside. If you try them, plant them in a protected spot in the spring so they have ample time to get established early for blooming in the fall. The perennial variety like lots of sunlight, regular watering and do best in well-drained soil. They have shallow roots so don’t let weeds compete with new plants. They need high phosphorus fertilizer to stimulate root growth while getting established. Prepare your mums for winter by pinching off dead blooms leaving the branches intact and mulching with up to 4 inches of straw or shredded wood. Remove the mulch when you see new growth in the spring and clip off the old growth at this time as well. If you are lucky enough to have returning mums they need to be divided every couple of years in the spring. Full rounded dome plants require regular bud and stem pinching as well to create more branching keeping the plant compact. Specific instructions for care in these areas can be found online. So, that’s it for the lovely chrysanthemum. I’m planning to purchase a few this coming week; I wonder where the biggest plants with the most buds are to be found?