Rethinking the mighty mum
Chrysanthemums, or mums, get a bad rap—and for good reason. The two most common types—bright white or yellow filler flowers sold at the grocery store or gaudy mounds of small-flowered garden mums that hit the nurseries as soon as temps cool—border on obnoxious. But there’s a whole world of specialty mums that will have you rethinking your resistance to this awesome late-season bloomer.
'Saba'
'Coral Charm'
‘Vesuvio’
‘Red Twig’
This is a spoon chrysanthemum—flower form as single daisies with spooned tips. ‘Red Twig’ is eye-catching with a bright yellow center and dark crimson tips.
‘Natalini’
‘Feeling Green’
‘Mocha’
‘Golden Pinwheel’
A smaller spoon type, look closely to see that pale tubes give way to bright yellow tips.
‘River City’
‘Chesapeake’
‘Annie Girl’
Decorative types, like pinkish purple ‘Annie Girl’, present beautiful open blooms, making them perfect in mixed bouquets.
‘Le Mans’
‘Fleur De Lis’
‘Fleur De Lis’, a light purple bloomer, is one of the best large spiders on the market. Expect hundreds of fine lacy petals spilling into a graceful arch
‘Fort Smith’
‘Lone Star’
Being an exotic- or unclassified-form, ‘Lone Star’ blooms in an angelic pure white.