Chrysanthemums are such a versatile flower that they are used for a variety of purposes throughout the year. However, fall is their season. It's unfortunate that many write them off as "old school," and you've probably heard the phrase, "familiarity breeds contempt."
Well, you ought to think again before you push this great flower to the side during the fall season. It has so much to offer. For example, consider color and form. How many other flowers can offer such a wide range of colors from yellow to bronze to purple, lavender, pink, etc.? How many other flowers can provide you with forms ranging from the large corsage flower so often seen at football games and dances to blossoms with an oriental flair? Now add to those credits the fact that mums are one of the longest lasting blossoms as a cut flower and you have an "old timer" that really is hard to beat.
They are especially adapted to the fall where their yellow and bronze colored petals coordinate so beautifully with the yellows and oranges of winter squash and pumpkins not to mention ornamental gourds. They are also frequently used with Indian corn for fall displays in both private homes and in businesses. Such displays can actually last for weeks and carry over through the Thanksgiving holidays with only minor changes. Of course, such displays generally use live potted mums rather than those which have been severed from their roots. And there is an extra bonus. When it's time for the displays to come down, the mum plants can be removed from their pots and planted in a flower bed. If they are a variety of hardy garden mum, they will survive the winter and reward you with blooms once or twice during the following year; if not, you will only have wasted a little time and effort.
To read the rest of the story, please go to: Associated Press