Chrysanthemums

Mankato

Chrysanthemum have become a flower I have started to admire.
It is now commonly referred to as "The Queen of Fall Flowers".
If your one of those people who want to preserve the history of flowers than lets learn more about heirloom flowers.
In the US the popularity of chrysanthmum has increased since its introduction in the colonial period.
Instead of buying plants lots of people traded their plants with family and friends.

Moonlight

This old system was called barting as money was always a shortage.
Over the past few years I have been buying them as plugs or commonly called little rooted plants.
They are ordered in early spring and then they arrive in late May and I then pot them up till they are well rooted.

The heirloom mums just need a little special care as the deep winter colds will kill some of your plants.  This year I am doing a little test.  I left most of my plants in the raised bed protected with a heavy frost blanket.  One plant was dug up and put in a plastic pot left in a plastic house by the house. Then a few small pots were brought into the house to see how they fare. I had planned on taking cuttings but other garden chores had grabed my attention and before you knew it the season of fall was gone.  One of the important choices is picking your site for planting as these are really treated as a perennial.
Moonlight was a new addition to the garden with its amazing yellow color.

Mankato is almost like a daisy type of flower it blooms are a little earlier in October.
The one thing I like about all these different kinds of blooms is the different types of colors and type of flowers.


When all is gone you can count on these cool loving bloomers.
The one thing you should know about this flower is it has a long growing period.
In the U.S. it has grown in popularity since its introduction in the colonial period. . 
Over the past 3 years growing Chrysanthemums has been a real joy.
I love seeing the colors come fall when all other plants have died.
As a cut flower grower I am always looking for a new perennial that I can make cuttings for more plants. Starting small is how I am growing my business.  So if there is a plant that I can grow with and learn with as the business grows.
All for the love of beautiful flowers.
 

Norton Vic

 Norton Vic is one of the new types I grew this year and what an amazing soft pink color.  The blooms did not come till mid November which was okay as everything else in the garden was already done by the frost.

Shock

 

Shock is another one of the winners this year for their amazing color in the cut flower garden.  It grew very tall so it is necessary to stake the plants.
Chrysanthum as an herbal treatment.

Whats amazing about the cut flower industry was in the late 1880's the flower industry was not real big. In 1885 I found a flower lovers journal and there is much written from a magazine called Parks Floral Magazine.  This little magazine that was a common name in households across America.  In the magazine they talk about different flowers grown from seed and other interesting flowers to grow.  The best part as people were able to write in questions about plants from Park's Florist Magazine from 1885.
I then came across this woman, Theodosia Burr Shepherd who started her own seed and bulb company. 

Theodosia Burr Shepherd 
  In Ventura, Theodosia developed the California flower seed industry, starting in 1874.  She began by swapping seeds through a ladies’ magazine.  After a few years, she expanded her property and began growing flowers for their seeds.   In 1881, she sent a package of seeds to Peter Henderson of New York, one of the nation’s leading nurserymen, who encouraged her to grow seeds and flowers in the Ventura climate.