Chrysanthemums Before Season
My husband hates my seasonal decorating obsession. He thinks it’s a waste of money, a waste of storage space and it’s plain ol’ silly. Despite this though, last year for our anniversary he bought me six huge mum plants from Lisena Garden Center (12-5 Cross Bay Blvd, Broad Channel). They looked beautiful on my porch. Adding the burst of yellow and orange color I needed to contrast the hay bundles and corn stalks in my fall harvest display. The flowers lasted well into late October.
I never understood why people throw chrysanthemums out after they pass bloom, they’re perennial. If you plant them in the ground over winter, mums will come back year-to-year. Maybe they’re not kept because of a garden space issue? It pains me to see them sitting curbside with the trash. A few times I’ve picked healthy ones out of the garbage pile in front of my neighbors homes to “save” them.
Last fall I planted my anniversary mums in the backyard. This spring they started growing! I was excited to see the plant come alive once more. Interestingly, I noticed buds developing in late July. This was so curious to me, as we all know, mums at our local nurseries in September are budding then.
After a few google searches I learned the causes of premature budding:
- Temperature: low temperatures initiate early flowers, high temperatures (above 90°F in the day and/or above 75°F at night) can delay flowering. Temperature change will override day length bloom cycles.
- Lack of water, too much fertilizer, other stressors such as blight can cause early bloom.
What I’ve deduced from the above is: the mums my husband purchased last year were most likely a cultivar that naturally bloom earlier, during longer days of more sunlight. I didn’t pay attention to watering so lack of water could also be a factor.
4Chrysanthemums cultivated for trade are grown in extremely controlled environments so that growers can coordinate bloom in the fall, making a profit, when this popular plant is sought after. Now I know and understand though, this perennial isn’t necessarily a late-blooming plant by nature.
My initial intention was to dig up the mums growing in the backyard for display and then replant again, using them year-to-year. But now that mine are in early bloom, I’ll have to purchase new mums in mid-September. So I’m back to spending unnecessary money on season decor but I look at it this way… I’m supporting local business which is important and it makes me happy as hell – so there you have it.
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