Most people are very familiar with the chrysanthemums (mums) that are seen all around New England every fall. They provide a burst of color that lasts for a few weeks and then we discard the plants because they are not hardy here in zone 5b. Less familiar to the casual gardener however is the group of perennial chrysanthemums that withstand our cold winter weather well with just a little bit of protection.
Our oval garden in the picture above had blooming irises in June and daylilies all summer long. Now that we are into October it is time for the chrysanthemums to show off. The light yellow mum in the center is Moonlight with Sheffield flanking it right and left. In the background the pink Clara Curtis and white Feverfew are giving a little color to the shade garden.
Sheffield (left) dresses up the Northern Spy apple tree while Clara Curtis (right) adorns the peach tree.
The perennial garden has gone from a derelict state, to one of color this year. The considerable effort was definitely worth it. Along with the Sheffield and Clara Curtis mums there is also a small clump of Bolero mum in the background. I like the darker yellow color of Bolero and plan on propagating more of these for next year’s display.
There are some varieties of mums that have plant patents and so are not able to be propagated by the casual gardener. Professional nurseries pay a fee to the patent owner to propagate and sell those plants. Most perennial mums are not patented however and fortunately they are very easy to propagate from stem cuttings. In this group I have Hanna’s Double White, Lavender Mist, Will’s Wonderfull and a red one whose name escapes me.
All summer long the mums provide a background of green but now in October they are on show, such as these flanking the door to the greenhouse. Inside the greenhouse (much in need of a good cleaning) I have pots of perennial seedlings and cuttings that includes delphiniums (grown from the seeds of our baby blue delphiniums this summer), several different types of cuttings of mums and gloriosa daisies (also grown from seeds saved from our gardens). The voracious appetite of the resident rabbit population requires that I keep growing more plants to take the places of those nibbled to a nub. Oh well, I enjoy plant propagation and rabbits need to eat too. I am looking forward to expanding the range of colors in the perennial mum gardens next fall with cuttings from this year’s acquisitions. You can depend on me to post pictures.
New Hampshire Gardening 