IVOM: Lasting lovliness

I've never been a big fan of the Chrysanthemums one sees to buy at this time of year. Dense plants of brightly colored flowers that somehow always feel fake to me.  So it's no surprise that when I saw Chrysanthemum 'Sheffield' in the online shop of Avant Gardens in MA, I fell for it hard.

I planted it in August, 2021. I got enough flowers last fall to get a sense of what it would look like this year: Glorious. I cut these stems on Oct. 27th on the assumption that a frost would kill it. Most of the flowers were still in the bud stage and I just left them to their fate in the garden.

Imagine my surprise when I discovered they were continuing to open and bloom despite some pretty chilly weather. I cut more stems and added them to the original group which have now been looking perfect for 10 days.

Front or back, I'm in love with these flowers. So I ordered another one from Avant Garden called "October Glory." Can't wait for it to bloom next year.

Nothing nicer than having enough flowers to cut that you can put them in multiple places indoors. With an equally long-lasting leaf from Heuchera 'Fire Alarm.'

Comments

[Tracy]

Wow, I usually don't think much of mums - but those are beautiful!

[danger garden]

Good find, and put to nice use with your arrangements.

[Frank]

Love the mums, but the squash! Perfect form and the tendrils as well... love it!

[Old Lady Gardener]

Beautiful! Sheffield is such a delicious color, isn't it? I, too, find these late fall mums have great vase life and, by far, prefer them to "roundie-moundies". I like your last photo best!
Being the only thing left with any significant bloom, mine are just covered with all sorts of pollinators. Do you have a problem with them flopping? I give them the Chelsea Chop around 4th of July, but by late October they still refuse to remain upright. How do you handle this characteristic?