Every fall we look forward to the arrival of iconic chrysanthemums to bring bursts of color and vibrancy to our gardens, porches and fall displays. Symbols of joy, rejuvenation and longevity. It’s difficult not to be thrilled with their jewel-like colors and cheerful flower shapes. They’re one of the first indicators that the change from summer to fall is not a drill – but their journey to your home starts long before the leaves begin to change.
FARM GROWN MUMS
Our Farm Grown Mums come to us as rooted cuttings, also known as plugs, like many other plants grown on the farm. Plugs are very young plants with well-established roots. We transplant these plugs into their final pots late-june or early july every year.
The cuttings are “plugged” in our main greenhouse and as they grow to mid-size, the greenhouse production crew will roll them out the window (or side vents, depending on how you look at them) into the roll-out yard. We have two of these; front & back, one for plant production and one for produce production. You’ll recognize these if you have ever been on a farm tour! We’ll get into the magic of the roll-outs at a later date, stay tuned, back to mums: the mums call the yard home until they are fully grown and ready for the Garden Center, generally in the 2nd or 3rd week of september.
Like many plants, mums are “photoperiodic”. This means they measure the length of daylight to determine when to flower. The plants carry a flower-inducing hormone in their growing tips, the hormone is destroyed by light. During the long summer days, the hormone is burnt off, stopping the mums from budding.
These days we grow about 4,300 mums of different sizes for the fall season on Nantucket. We love every color just as much as the other but it’s so hard not to pick favorites. If you ask most customers, they would probably say the crisp whites, with orange and bronze not far behind. Pink and yellow are the most vibrant but seem to be the last pick for kickball recently but they truly are all beautiful in their own rights.
Mums are hardy, zone 5-9. However, they probably won’t survive the winter freeze to return next fall. It’s not impossible but unlikely, due to the short time period between our transplanting and the time they go dormant – there’s just not enough time for strong root growth for them to survive the winter freeze. All that means is we love them more for being annuals – short bursts of joy to get us into the swing of the fall season!
Homecare:
- Mums are always hungry, big time feeders. Our Farm Grown Mums have a slow-release fertilizer infused in the soil that will keep them fed for the rest of the year.
- They love sunlight, best to get them at least 5-6 hours daily.
- They are thirsty creatures, like to be watered deeply, but try to avoid wetting the foliage. Water them at the base of the plant directly into the soil.
- Mums will let you know when they are thirsty! Their branches and leaves will wilt or droop and the weight of the pot will feel extremely light.
- We recommend deadheading. This will encourage your mums to keep going throughout the fall and keep it looking fresh and clean.
- Don’t place mums too close together – keep them evenly spaced to prevent overcrowding, increasing air circulation and preventing disease.
Copy written by Breeze Kidder, Assistant Garden Center Manager