Picking healthy, freshly potted Texas chrysanthemums, or flowering mums, will be the beginning of a beautiful long-term relationship.
Article reference: Texas Department of Agriculture
The hardy Texas chrysanthemums or flowering mums may become one of your longest-lived flowering plants. With gorgeous blooms lasting three weeks or more, and a wide diversity of color and form, it’s easy to see why flowering mums are the most popular of all year-round flowering plants, earning the title “Queen of the Fall Flowers.”
When you buy potted chrysanthemums grown in Texas, you know you’re getting a healthy, fresh choice. Distance does make a difference, and buying a plant grown locally means less travel time for your Texas chrysanthemum to ship directly to your local retailer. Be sure you’re purchasing a potted chrysanthemum raised in Texas by looking for the GO TEXAN logo, and remember, when it comes to buying fall flowers in the Lone Star State, mum’s the word! Get the most from your flowering mum.
Tips for Picking a Fresh Pot Texas Mum
- Select a plant with dark green foliage and without damaged or broken flowers.
- Choose a healthy plant that doesn’t wobble in the pot and isn’t too top-heavy.
- Find a potted chrysanthemum with flowers one-half to three-fourths open. Flowers that haven’t opened yet might not bloom at home, while flowers that are fully open might not last as long at home.
- Avoid wilting plants or plants with bugs.
- Look for the distinctive GO TEXAN logo – a glowing brand in the shape of Texas – to help you find chrysanthemums from Texas at a glance.
Mum Care
Water: Moderately moist soil is preferred. Water thoroughly when just the soil surface is dry to the touch, but do not let the plant stand in water.
Light: Chrysanthemums prefer a bright light location.
Temperature: Chrysanthemums prefer a moderate climate of 65 degrees F to 75 degrees F during the day, and 60 degrees F to 70 degrees F at night. Cooler nights (50 degrees F to 60 degrees F) help maximize a mum’s bloom time of up to three weeks.
Helpful Tips: If a chrysanthemum plant is bought in its bud stage, it will need bright light near a sunny window to encourage the buds to open. Once on full bloom, it may tolerate lower light. If a chrysanthemum plant develops yellow leaves and black flower centers, it is an indication that the light is too low. Be sure to avoid direct, full sunlight, which can burn the flowers.
Other facts about Mums
The chrysanthemum stands for optimism and cheerfulness, long life and happiness. It is the flower for October in China and the flower of September in Japan. The yellow chrysanthemum is associated with November.
Chrysanthemum is derived from the Greek words chrysos, meaning gold and anthemon meaning flower. Cultivated over 3,000 years ago in China, the Chrysanthemum is known as the "Flower of the East" and the "Flower of Life". Tao Yanming was the first historical breeder (around in 400 A.D). After his death, his hometown was named Juxian meaning "City of Chrysanthemums".
According to Chinese Feng Shui chrysanthemums bring happiness into your home. "The Japanese tell the legend of twelve young maidens and twelve young men who set out from China to find the "herb of youth," which they believed kept people eternally young. In order to trade for this herb, they carried with them baskets of chrysanthemums. When their ship wrecked near an uninhabited island, they swam ashore and planted the chrysanthemums. It was the first introduction of chrysanthemums to Japan, and to this day the imperial coat of arms of Japan shows a golden chrysanthemum with sixteen petals."
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