Fran Sorin, at Gardening Gone Wild, recently wrote several posts making a strong case for her dislike of mums. For the defense, Colleen at In the Garden Online has posted about the virtues of mums. For me, the jury is still out.I admit that I can't work up much enthusiasm about these plants. Even the name is, well, kind of lame. "Mum" brings to mind old ladies in pillbox hats, being followed by Corgis and bowing subjects. A "Chrysanthemum" could be something used during a baptism. "Dendranthema" (if that's what they're still calling it), sounds like something that should be buzzing through the garden, with iridescent wings and bulging eyes.
I don't like mums of different colors mixed together, and I don't like the button shape of most mums. I also am put off by the way the annual mums are used, generally stuffed into pots to replace tired Summer annuals. Am I prejudiced against them?
But then I consider the individual example of the mum in my garden. Several times I've thought about ripping it out, but it is planted in my son's garden, and he adamantly refuses to allow its removal. I don't know the identity of this mum, as it is a pass-along plant from my mom. It is hardy, at least to Zone 6, as my mom has had it forever it seems, planted against an East-facing brick wall. Mine is also in an Eastern exposure, planted against the only brick on my house, the chimney. The plant is reliable and blooms every year. So it's got that going for it. It also has daisy-shaped flowers, which are almost charming. It is planted on a sharp slope, but never needs additional watering, another point in its favor. The color of the flower is not exactly my taste, a little too orange, but, then again, it is not the Sodium Chromate yellow or rusty orange of most mums. I guess that counts as a positive.
Finally, and most significantly, it is the very last plant to start blooming here at Squirrelhaven (if I don't count the occasional December bloom of Galanthus elwesii as late, rather than early). Anything that starts blooming so late and can take some frost has some merit.Weighing the preponderance of the evidence (I am trying to be civil), I find that this particular mum can stay. I may even like it a little. But don't quote me on that.
17 comments:
Lovely... I wonder if this is 'Clara Curtis' or just a look-alike? In any case, I like it much more than the usual "fall mums," much for the same reasons you mention. It has a handsome, almost aster-like look it, doesn't it?
And for you, that it grew in your mother's garden must be another plus. That's very cool.
I agree with Kim. It looks like 'Clara Curtis,' which has its origin in Russia. I call these Daisy Mums and they don't look much like the typical fall mums to me. That must be why I like them. I'm not a big lover of the typical cushion or button mums either.
It is pretty and I am glad you are keeping it...how can you get rid of a Mum from your Mom? :=)
This is a very attractive and happy plant! I can't help with the name, but others have done so, so I'm hoping for similar luck. I have a bright yellow perennial mum out at the edge of one bed--where it came from, I don't remember, but it has been getting bigger and covering itself with flowers since late July. Lovely green foliage with a hint of blue in the buds, and while I don't know what genus or species it is, it's such a star performer I just leave it going. I'll have to find a photo and post it and perhaps someone will recognize it.
The mums I like are usually stronger colours, the dark wines, rosy-bronzes, deep magentas, because they are a little different and quite happy. Plus though I'm a freestyle cottage gardener, something about those tidy planters of flowers really appeals. Maybe because they're somewhat orderly among the chaos of a winding down garden.
MMD: I have that mum also and I think it was called 'Pink Sheffield' but it was never pink, more peach. Love it no matter what as it is the latest bloomer there is!
oh, this is lovely, I would vote to keep it, too!
I agree with layanee, MMD about the flower being the cultivar Chrysanthemum rubellum x hybrid 'Pink Sheffield ', or Korean mum.
I so agree with you on disliking potted annual mums staged in the Fall garden - so not natural.
What you have is one of the super stars of the Fall garden and it's definitely a keeper. Hard to find even at better garden centers.
I did a July 13 post on it.
Blackswamp Girl, Kylee, Layanee & Carolyn Gail - thanks for your suggestions for a possible id for the mum. I think I need to see those named cultivars in person to compare to my mum. My Mom told me that she thought it was more pink when she first planted it, & it has become more peachy with time. I noticed today that it is the same color as 1 of my Mom's roses, Sharifa Asma.
Hi Connie, thanks for stopping by. I like the pun!
Muum - I have decided to keep it, it has grown on me a bit.
Jodi - your mention of tidy planters & Carolyn Gail's mention of the artificiality of those planters made me realize what is it about most mums that I don't like: they are not wild-enough looking for my garden. They are just too formal & perfect, 2 adjectives that have nothing to do with me or my garden! If I could find a magenta, crimson, or dark purple daisy-type mum, I think I might even like it.
Thank you, Mr. McGregor's Daughter. I now can saw why "I just don't like Mums," either. I never could put a finger on it, but "too formal and too perfect," and "not nearly wild-enough looking" all fit me to a T.
I'm on the fence about mums too. But I admit to having a few in my gardens. I can't bear to chuck them out when someone I love has given me one as a gift so I usually let them live a year or two before doing them in. ;-)
Your mum is so pretty, I'm glad your son won't let you remove it! I guess I like a little formality and perfection. Also it just isn't fall to me without the traditional mums blooming in my garden. I have pulled up my share of them though, when they start to spread everywhere.
I was just over at GGW, a new post on mums. I detest them, but your point about it being a fall flowering plant is a good one. I can't say it's enough, but I appreciate what you said about one of my least favorite flowers.
Blackswamp Girl - I'm glad I was able to help you clarify what it is exactly that you don't like.
Dirty Knees - very diplomatic of you. I've learned to say no to plants I don't like, although I usually add that I can't find a place for it.
RNP - the mum has to be carefully watched or it overrides everything. There used to be crocuses planted in front of it, but it killed them.
Benjamin Vogt - thanks for stopping by! I also detest the button type & football mums, but I'm being generous to the daisy type. Mum haters of the world, unite & take over?
I find in my garden that the butterflies like the daisy like mums the best. It may be that they are one of the latest blooming flower. I am glad you didn't throw it out.
Lisa - thanks for visiting. That's interesting about the butterflies. As I don't have any other mums, I have no basis for comparison.
Looks an awful lot like 'Pink Sheffield' which is a lovely plant and probably shouldn't be mentioned in the same breath as the other type of Mum. 'Clara Curtis' has a little more purple color in it.
I could go on here for awhile but it is suffice to say I like Mums in general and there seems to be new types and strains that look good all the time. It is a big genus with a lot of surprises.
DFP - I'm all about surprises here; thanks for the input on the mum ID.
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