FLOWERS : Chrysanthemums Now Bloom in a Rainbow Variety of Colors

Chrysanthemums once were mainly yellow in color and known as the “golden flower of the Orient.”

But color choices have changed. A red now is the best seller in this country, says Edward Higgins, product manager for Yoder Bros. of Barberton, Ohio, the world’s largest producer of garden mums.

Early in this decade, yellow still was the top choice.

Bravo, a red decorative, is the new leader. As for flower form, decoratives and daisy types lead the sales chart, followed by spiders, anemones, buttons and pompons.

Yoder lists Debonair, a pink-lavender decorative, as its No. 2 seller, followed by Jessica, a yellow decorative, and Linda, a white decorative.

Rounding out Yoder’s list are Raquel, red decorative; Sundoro, pink-lavender decorative; Yellow Triumph, yellow decorative; Tolima, white decorative; Dark Triumph, bronze decorative; Nicole, white decorative; Anna, yellow daisy; Red Remarkable, red decorative; Lynn, pink-lavender decorative; Legend, yellow pompon, and Megan, pink-lavender daisy.

Since Yoder, like other producers, is in the business of developing plants that consumers will want to buy, it tries to stay ahead of color trends in its plant-breeding program.

Yoder’s 26 new introductions this year include various shades of apricot, bronze, coral, lavender, mahogany, orange, red, pink, salmon, white and yellow.

Later-blooming varieties are another major change in recent years. Yoder calls them “season extenders.” The normal flowering time for garden mums runs from early to late September while “season-extenders” flower into late October, says Higgins.

He lists them as Autumn Denise, a red-bronze decorative type; Denise, pastel-bronze decorative; Julia, yellow daisy; Kimberly, pink daisy; Sarah, bronze-quilled decorative; Sunny Denise, yellow decorative; Valerie, purple decorative, and Yellow Sarah, yellow-quilled decorative.

Incidentally, chrysanthemum no longer is the correct botanical name. For many years they were known as Chrysanthemum morifolium. Recently botanists reclassified the name to Dendranthema grandiflorum.

But, as Higgins puts it: “Mum and chrysanthemum remain the popular names for plants of this genus and show no signs of going away.”

Higgins favors spring planting in a sunny location to better establish roots but says already flowering plants may be placed in any location or container where a splash of color is desired. Plant in fertile, well-drained soil. Rainfall in many areas is sufficient but keep plants from wilting.

During the growing season, work a general fertilizer such as 5-10-5 into the soil at the rate of half a pound to a pound per 100 square feet. Repeat monthly until August. Spring-planted mums will need pinching, but this should be stopped around July 10 in northern states and Aug. 1 in southern areas.

Space plants 15 to 20 inches from the center of one plant to the center of the next. Some other recommendations:

Always thoroughly water a freshly planted mum. Select plants with dark-green leaf color, absence of flower and leaf damage and strong stems.

“It is important to choose the best varieties for your region,” says Higgins. “Mums do best at temperatures ranging from 70 to 80 degrees Fahrenheit during the day and 55 to 65 degrees at night.”

For those who live in hot climates, he recommends Sarah and Yellow Sarah in the season-extender group.

Garden mums are classified as perennials, plants that die back to the roots in the fall and grow back in the spring.

For generations they were known as short-day plants because they flowered in the fall when there was less than 12 hours of daylight per day.

Scientists in this century learned how to trick them into flowering by artificially reducing daylight to simulate fall.