Chrysanthemums Rule! Mum's the Word!

Welcome to the Member Ideas area! This community feature is where our members can post their own ideas. These posts are unedited and not necessarily endorsed by the National Gardening Association.
Posted by @frankrichards16 on
This past year I took a deep dive into Chrysanthemum rubellums (Heirloom or Old Fashioned Mums). In Michigan, we had a hard frost in mid-October as usual, but several of my new mums are still in bloom. What's not to like about that?

Early this year (2015), I purchased 4 heirloom mums from Bluestone Perennials: Chrysanthemum x rubellum 'Bolero,' Chrysanthemum x rubellum 'Cambodian Queen,' Chrysanthemum x rubellum 'Clara Curtis,' and Chrysanthemum x rubellum 'Mary Stoker.'

And 3 from Select Seeds: Chrysanthemum x rubellum 'Autumn Bronze,' Chrysanthemum x rubellum 'Emperor of China,' and Chrysanthemum x rubellum 'Hillside Sheffield Pink.'

Additionally, my good friend @jvdubb (Jennifer) gifted me 6 newer models: Chrysanthemum 'Hot Pink Daisy', Chrysanthemum 'Light Pink Quill', Chrysanthemum 'Quarterback', Chrysanthemum 'Red Orange Daisy', Chrysanthemum 'Ruby Mound', and Chrysanthemum 'Ticonderoga.'

I was surprised by how fast they all grew in one season. They are definitely strong growers and are not like many perennials that take a few years to establish. For example, here are spring and fall photos of 'Cambodian Queen'

Thumb of 2015-11-06/frankrichards16/f50d9f Thumb of 2015-11-06/frankrichards16/960965

The history of the rubellum chrysanthemums is somewhat foggy. In 1929 North Wales, an oddball chrysanthemum was discovered at Happy Valley Gardens, Llandudno (great name). Kew botanist John Sealy thought that it was most like C. zawadskii v. sibiricum, but not quite. So he concluded that it was a new species and named it C. rubellum. Apparently, in 1929, you could do things like that. Turns out that it was probably not a new species, but an improved sport and should have been named C. zawadskii v sibiricum robustrum. Oh well, many plant breeders used the "new" C. rubellum to produce new hybrids that were called C. rubellums. One such hybrid from Amos Perry (of that time period) is 'Clara Curtis.' Note that most rubellums are 2-3 feet tall. Not so with 'Clara Curtis' (must have been crossed with a dwarf). At any rate, ‘Clara Curtis‘ was one of the very first rubellums.

Thumb of 2015-11-06/frankrichards16/98f031 Thumb of 2015-11-06/frankrichards16/acd49b Thumb of 2015-11-06/frankrichards16/6d0ed6

Chrysanthemum x rubellum 'Bolero' is an early bloomer. Photos from October 3, 2015.

Thumb of 2015-11-06/frankrichards16/900ecd Thumb of 2015-11-06/frankrichards16/38d07b Thumb of 2015-11-06/frankrichards16/0cfbd0

Chrysanthemum x rubellum 'Mary Stoker' is another yellow. Not sure who Mary was, but one Google reference mentions a Russian origin.

Thumb of 2015-11-06/frankrichards16/51faf3 Thumb of 2015-11-06/frankrichards16/7e768a Thumb of 2015-11-06/frankrichards16/3cd0eb

Another heirloom is Chrysanthemum x rubellum 'Autumn Bronze.' Seems like many of these early rubellums had bronze in the name (Chrysanthemum ‘Bronze Elegans’ and C. ‘Bronze Elegance’).

Thumb of 2015-11-06/frankrichards16/f72afb Thumb of 2015-11-06/frankrichards16/1911ae

Chrysanthemum x rubellum 'Hillside Sheffield Pink,' AKA ‘Sheffield Pink’, ‘Single Apricot’, ‘Single Apricot Korean’ or ‘Sheffield’. Starts out in early fall with medium pink buds, turning to pale apricot in October.

Thumb of 2015-11-06/frankrichards16/3cb10f Thumb of 2015-11-06/frankrichards16/10aa06 Thumb of 2015-11-06/frankrichards16/010fad

My favorite heirloom is Chrysanthemum x rubellum 'Emperor of China'. Spoons are in!

Thumb of 2015-11-06/frankrichards16/b9eac5 Thumb of 2015-11-06/frankrichards16/6ef771 Thumb of 2015-11-06/frankrichards16/dbf310

Newer Chrysanthemum models were earlier to bloom. Chrysanthemum 'Hot Pink Daisy'

Thumb of 2015-11-06/frankrichards16/7b60a7 Thumb of 2015-11-06/frankrichards16/bcd3b6 Thumb of 2015-11-06/frankrichards16/af6b95

Chrysanthemum 'Red Orange Daisy' and Chrysanthemum 'Ruby Mound'. No lack of flowers on these plants!

Thumb of 2015-11-06/frankrichards16/6d13ba Thumb of 2015-11-06/frankrichards16/c25c6e Thumb of 2015-11-06/frankrichards16/3be494

Chrysanthemum 'Light Pink Quill' turns into lavender as the temperatures drop. Yes, the last photo is the same plant! Not photoshopped:)

Thumb of 2015-11-06/frankrichards16/9d9f0b Thumb of 2015-11-06/frankrichards16/8ac69e Thumb of 2015-11-06/frankrichards16/5e7641

Football Mums! Chrysanthemum 'Quarterback' and Chrysanthemum 'Ticonderoga.' Two of my favorites!

Thumb of 2015-11-06/frankrichards16/0dae95 Thumb of 2015-11-06/frankrichards16/8ddb11 Thumb of 2015-11-06/frankrichards16/e2a10b

A couple of years ago I had a surplus of Dahlia tubers, so I put an add on Craigslist. There were only two or three respondents. I guess it was two. So, when one of the women came to pick up tubers, she brought me a chrysanthemum in a coffee can tin. Nice lady. Of course I planted it. The first year it was growing so tall that I trimmed it in the middle of the summer. As a result, it did not bloom until the end of November. The blooms were small and quickly failed to the December temperatures. I did not trim this year. It bloomed in October. What a treat!

Thumb of 2015-11-06/frankrichards16/01c79c Thumb of 2015-11-06/frankrichards16/0fac73 Thumb of 2015-11-06/frankrichards16/ac6b2d

I am hooked on these fantastic plants! I will search for new (old) ones next year. And yes, I will provide support for these beauties next year.

 
Comments and Discussion
Thread Title Last Reply Replies
flowering plant (Ashynanthis) by gesa39 Dec 4, 2015 2:24 PM 0
Chrysanthemums by Hummingbird Nov 16, 2015 1:27 AM 0
Beautiful Assortment by blue23rose Nov 8, 2015 8:59 AM 1
waaaaah by gingin Nov 8, 2015 5:39 AM 1

Explore More:

Member Login:

( No account? Join now! )