Chrysanthemums add colorful hues to autumn in Western Pennsylvania

As most flowers lose their color this time of the year, chrysanthemums are just beginning to bloom.

The flowers, also known as “mums,” are perfect for fall because they are hardy and can endure some fluctuations in temperature, experts said.

You most likely will spot them popping up on front steps of a home, among fall decor displays and hanging from porches.

“They are beautiful plants,” said Chris VandenBosche, Penn State Extension educator/coordinator for the Master Gardener Program of Allegheny County. “I love them. Chrysanthemums come in all different colors. Another good thing about chrysanthemums is that they are not tasty to deer and rabbits.”

Most greenhouses are filled with chrysanthemums that are still lush and green, not yet in bloom. That’s exactly why many people like to buy them now — so they’ll burst into color just in time for fall, which begins Sept. 22. Once they do bloom, the flowers can last five weeks or more.

Bloom time

Over the next month and a half, chrysanthemums will reach full bloom. Depending on how they are grown, they will flower in stages — early, mid and late bloomers. Greenhouses organize chrysanthemums by bloom time and note the expected bloom time on cards nearby.

At Arona Road Greenhouse in Hempfield, Sarah O’Hern, who co-owns the family business with her brother Matthew Downs, said they have 500 with more scheduled to arrive this past week.

They grow some of the smaller chrysanthemums while the larger ones are brought in from New Jersey. There are many different types, O’Hern said. They need a lot of water, she said.

“The most popular colors are yellow and orange, but you can also find them in reds and pinks and purple and some white,” O’Hern said. “We’ve been seeing a nice coral color, too.”

One of the popular choices is tricolor pots, with three hues in one pot, O’Hern said.

The tri-color variety is also a popular seller at Flora Park Garden Center in Bethel Park, said Randy Stetor, who co-owns the business with his wife, Debra Galob.

“We do a lot of mixing of the three colors,” Stetor said. “(Chrysanthemums) are a hugely popular fall flower because they come in so many different colors. People like them because they are a cold-weather plant. They last and they will take a frost.”

Fall decor

It is best to plant them sooner rather than later, said Dan Higgins, co-owner of Michael Brothers Nursery in West Deer, before the ground gets too cold. You can also transfer them to a bigger pot and add more soil to give them more room, Higgins said.

At Michael Brothers Nursery, they grow as many as 2,000 and have been growing them for more than five decades, Higgins said.

“They are a very popular fall flower because people like to have something flowering in the fall, because by September flowers look washed up or dried out,” Higgins said. “And they go well with fall decorating.”

O’Hern suggests another way to incorporate chrysanthemums into fall decor is to combine them in a larger pot with something else, such as marigolds and flowering kale.

“You can get creative with them,” O’Hern said. “They don’t have to be a standalone flower.”

Alternatives

Chrysanthemums are not native to the U.S., VandenBosche said.

“What happens is some people will put them on the porch and when the plant dies, they throw it away,” VandenBosche said. “There are alternatives that people can plant that will give them fall flowers.”

The Lobelia cardinalis, known as the cardinal flower, has spikes of red flowers. A relative is Lobelia siphilitica, known as the blue lobelia.

“It will peak in early fall,” VandenBosche said.

The New England Aster, Symphyotrichum novae-angilae, is one of VandenBosche’s favorites to recommend to people who want that big show of purple flowers. New York ironweed can grow as tall as 8 to 10 feet in a shocking purple and yellow, she said. Late goldenrod is for moister soils or hairy goldenrod for dry soils, VandenBosche said.

Source: extension.psu.edu/native-perennials-for-fall