Today’s chrysanthemums are highly evolved flowering plants.
A member of the Asteraceae (Compositae) family, the Chrysanthemum is related to dahlias, sunflowers, marigolds, zinnias, and cosmos. The bloom which appears as a single flower is actually hundreds of flowers called florets. Two kinds of florets are present in a single bloom, disk florets and ray florets. For example, in the daisy-type chrysanthemum pictured above, each type of floret is easy to see – the outer parts are ray florets and the center or eye is composed of disk florets. Although we generally think of fall as being chrysanthemum season, there are actually three different types of blooming mums: early bloomers, early fall bloomers and late fall bloomers. Early bloomers often begin flowering in late July, early fall bloomers show off blooms in September and late fall bloomers start their stunning display of colors in October. Each variety differs, but most mums will continue to bloom for four to eight weeks.
One of the best sources for exotic mums is King’s Mums. They grow a limited quantity and do not begin taking orders until Jan. 2022. Starter plants are shipped in the Spring and will produce full size plants and flowers in the Fall.