SEPTEMBER : football mums : Chrysanthemum × morifolium

Scientific name: Chrysanthemum × morifolium

Common name: football mums

Family: Asteraceae

Suggested pronunciation: aster-A-cee-ee

Article by Jeanne Gozigian

We talked in the June Plant of the Month article about violet corsages being worn on the furs of fashionable New York City women to denote “spring in December.” Likewise, football mums were worn on muskrat fur coats by fashionable coeds in the 1920’s. After all, chrysanthemums are known as the flowers of November, typically football season in the United States.

Chrysanthemums, also known as mummingtons or chrysanths, are native to East Asia and NE Europe.  The center of diversity is in China. Countless horticultural varieties and cultivars have been developed.  Col. John Stevens introduced mums to American horticulture in 1798 with “Dark Purple” from England; it was a star attraction at Elysian Fields in Hoboken, New Jersey. In Japan, the institution of monarchy is deemed the Chrysanthemum Throne and the flower is the imperial symbol.

Chrysanthemums are herbaceous perennials or sub-shrubs. Their alternate leaves are divided into leaflets with toothed or smooth edges.  A few simple or many rows of ray flowers in myriad colors surround disc flowers, which in wild taxa are always yellow. They like to grow in full sun in zones 5-9. Their 36” height is long blooming and deer resistant and needs mulching only in very cold areas. The mulch should be removed before the spring thaw. Old foliage needs to be removed as new growth comes from the roots.

Known as the “Queen of Fall Flowers,” these beauties bloom from early autumn to a killing frost. Well-drained slightly acidic garden soil is perfect for them. An application of standard (5- 10-5) fertilizer and a super-phosphate root stimulant are advised on planting. Water like a lawn, once per week but more during hot summer temperatures. Prune early in the season to encourage side branching. The mums we purchase in the fall may disappoint by failing to winter over; not enough time may be had for root development. It is a good idea to divide plants after a number of years.  Get out the shovel!

Plants can be propagated through cuttings.  Take the top 4” of a stem, place in sterile potting soil, keep moist, warm and out of direct sun. Gradually expose to more light.

The name, chrysanthemum, comes from ancient Greek: chrysos, meaning gold, and anthemon, meaning flower. The question becomes, are football mums really mums?  Mums are divided into two groups:

• Garden hardy, having small blooms and needing little mechanical assistance like staking; and
• Exhibition types, needing much more care.

The most important species of these are the Dendratherma, florists’ mums, and the Tanacetum, garden pyrethrins.

Football mums are hybridized varieties of hardy garden mums, bred for size, shape and color. They are soft to touch with no center button.  The largest mums of the chrysanthemum family, they have interesting names like Cheerleader, Coral Cavalier, and Ticonderoga.  Natural colors of orange/red, purple, yellow and white can be tinted to blue, pink or green.  Not surprisingly, they are excellent wedding flowers.

As always, we look for other uses for favorite plants.  Culinary uses are obvious. Tea is brewed from yellow or white (C. mortifolium) flowers.  In Korea, a rice wine flavored with C. flowers is called, Gukhwaju.

Chrysantheum is also the source of the powerful insecticide, pyrethrum (Chrysanthemum cinerariaefolium). Flowers are crushed and active components called pyrethrins are extracted and sold in the form of oleoresins, suspended in water or oil or as a powder. It acts on the nervous system of all insects. In lesser concentration it is an excellent insect repellent. It is less toxic to mammals and birds than synthetic insecticides, biodegradable and decomposes with light exposure. It decreases indoor air pollution, according to NASA Clean Air Study. Altogether, a wise choice.

Questionable medicinal uses are suggested but to be taken with reason. There is no evidence that it can be effective for angina or high blood pressure, even though it may increase blood flow to the heart. It can also increase sensitivity to insulin. If one is allergic to plants in the Asteraceae family, like ragweed, beware. If pregnant or breast feeding, avoid use.

There are lots of good things to say about Chrysantheums, for our gardens and appreciation of its floral beauty.  The Victorian language of flowers deemed that Chrysantheums stand for truth. The truth is that they make great additions to our Santa Fe gardens.

Sources:

Buy Bulk Football Mums, Flowers on the Football Mums Bouquet, retrieved July 29, 2021

https://www.wholeblossoms.com/mums-and-spider-mum/football-mums.html

 

Chrysantheum, Asteraceae, Wikipedia, retrieved July 30, 2021

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chrysanthemum

 

Chrysnthemum: Overview, Uses, Side Effects, Precautions, retrieved July 31, 2021

https://www.webmd.com/vitamins/ai/ingredientmono-904/chrysanthemum

 

FAQS-National Chrysanthemum Society, USA, retrieved July 30, 2021

https://www.mums.org/faqs/

 

Giant Football Mum Mix/Gurney’s Seed & Nursery Co., retrieved July 31, 2021

https://www.gurneys.com/product/football-mum

 

Mum Collection-Football-Bluestone Perennials, retrieved July 31, 2021

https://www.bluestoneperennials.com/MXF.html

 

Stern’s Dictionary of Plant Names for Gardeners, William T. Stern, Canell Publishers Limited, Villiers House, 41/47 Shand, London, WC2N, 5JE, 1992

 

The Language of Flowers, Vanessa Diffenbaugh, Ballantine Book Trade Paperback Collection. 2012