My next door neighbor has the most beautiful pair of chrysanthemums planted around a tree in her tree lawn. Every year, the end of September, it begins to bloom, and goes on blooming for weeks. I never see it get any care or water, and I am sure it has been there 6 years. There has been no deadheading, dividing, or weeding. This plant appearts in the spring, grows all summer long on its own, and blooms like crazy for 4 to 6 weeks.
It is a beautiful peachy cream color. The growth is loose and large. The flowers are single-this I like from the start. The foliage is dark green, and shows no signs of damage from pests or fungus. It has been in bloom since late September.
To my mind, this is a first class perennial-low maintenance, easy to grow, and very long blooming. Should you know the name of this chrysanthemum, will you write and tell me? Years ago, I remember perennial chrysanthemums in my Mom’s yard that looked very similar to this. The closest relative I can think of is Clara Curtis. Help me out please, should you have a mind.
Could it be Sheffield?
I have a good gardening friend who thinks this is Sheffield pink too.
Maybe not the same kind, but reminds me of the new mammoth mums that are out now….they are cold hardy (bred in MN) and have quite a long bloom period.
Deborah,
I haven’t heard the term tree lawn in awhile. The last time I used it the person to whom I was speaking didn’t know what I meant. I guess you must grow up in a city to know what it is.
I think it’s ‘Sheffield Pink’ too. ‘Clara Curtis’ is a slightly darker pink in my experience. Good plants for this time of year and long lasting cut flowers.
michaelmas daisy
n : North American perennial herb having small autumn-blooming purple or pink or white flowers; widely naturalized novi-belgii
Available from Bluebird Nursery in plugs. We keep it in pots for years. Some plants are 4’wide.
see http://thegardenway.blogspot.com/ “Fall House Party for pics.
We enjoy your site.
Happy Gardening
Many thanks for writing. I looked up your pictures-those plants are amazing! Beautiful.
The mum is Sheffield. We planted some this year and they are beautiful in the garden and a long lasting cut flower. Perfect….with pumpkins, callicarpa.
Hi Debra!
I’m just catching up on my reading! I really enjoy reading your blog. It is such a treat! It’s been a glorious busy fall here in Minnesota.
Just wanted to share some information about the Mammoth Mums that Jennifer wrote about. The University of Minnesota released a mum series called My Favorites – they were sold as 3-6 feet wide mums and cold hardy up to -30 below in 2001. They came in variety of colors – daisies red, pink and coral; a yellow with tubular, “quill” petals; and a semi-double white with yellow center. Unfortunatly, U of M had problems with the breeder company. (They were grown as part of the research at the UMORE Park about 7-8 years ago as part of Master Gardeners project so I remember observing them. My favorite has been the red because it grew the best and the bloom time was incredible.) They found another breeder and renamed them Mammouth Mums.
I planted the red mums in a church healing garden with a labyrinth. These mums are huge and long blooming! They need no pitching or fertilizing. They are just absolutely stunning! I will try to get a picture for you so that you can see. Here a link if you would like to learn more – http://krismers.com/WebPages2011/magnificent_mammoth_mums.htm
Today, unfortunately the Mammoth Mums are hard to find because most of the nurseries sell the annual mums so they can make money.