What’s in Bloom

The tree form is a Traditional form in Japan. Our Arborists save tree trunks from trees removed on property. The trunks only last a few years as forms. The mum is trained to grow up the back of the tree trunks and remain hidden from view when on display. The metal topiary forms are attached to the trunk and the gnome chrysanthemum cultivar, featuring very small compact flowers, is groomed to cover the flat form. The goal is to have very dense flower coverage. 
 

Ginkgo biloba, often called the maidenhair tree, is a living fossil and the last surviving member of a plant lineage that dates back over 200 million years. Native to China, where it’s long been cultivated around temples and sacred sites, the ginkgo has since found homes in cities around the world thanks to its resilience to pollution and pests. Its fan-shaped leaves turn a brilliant gold in autumn, drawing admirers even to quiet cemeteries where some of the oldest specimens can be found. The tree’s fruit, actually a seed with a fleshy outer coating gives off an infamously pungent odor when ripe, but inside lies an edible nut valued in East Asian cuisine. Extracts from the ginkgo’s leaves are also widely used in modern herbal medicine, often promoted for supporting memory and cognitive health. Ancient yet enduringly adaptable, the ginkgo remains a striking reminder of nature’s ability to survive and thrive across the ages.

Tanuki is a bonsai technique that combines a piece of deadwood with a living plant and seamlessly blends them to appear like one.  The dynamic vertical lines of the deadwood contrast beautifully with the downward growth of the mum, resulting in a display that conveys a deep sense of age and character.  

The bald cypress is a remarkable tree native to the southeastern United States, especially thriving in the swampy bayous and river floodplains of the Gulf Coast. Despite being a conifer, it is a deciduous tree meaning it drops its soft, feathery needles each fall, earning it the name “bald” cypress. In autumn, its foliage transforms into a stunning rusty orange, Its famous “knees” or woody projections that rise from its roots help the tree survive in waterlogged soils. The bald cypress provides vital habitat for herons, wood ducks, owls, and turtles, offering nesting sites and shelter among its trunks. Both ancient and resilient, it’s a true icon of America’s wetlands!  The elegant bald cypress allée (aka Flower Garden Drive), stretches in parallel rows, originally planted by the Peirce brothers in the 19th century and later enhanced and preserved by Pierre S. du Pont in the early 20th century. Today, the towering trees frame a tranquil vista that is ablaze of fall color each year,  a living legacy of vision, history, and natural beauty.  Be sure to check out the bonsai specimen in the Bonsai Courtyard!  

Blooms in this category often have an exotic appearance, featuring twisted florets. They may exhibit characteristics of more than one bloom class, or possibly none.

This class of blooms features long tubular petals that curl or hook at their tips. Their texture can range from very fine to coarse. The chrysanthemums in our collection are not your everyday garden varieties. Our collection features more than 180 cultivars representing all 13 chrysanthemum classes recognized by the National Chrysanthemum Society. To ensure the continuation of this collection, our research staff maintains more than 1,500 test tubes holding virus-free mum stock.

Cascade style chrysanthemums are prolific smaller flower cultivars which display an incredibly dense and uniform carpet of flowers. These can be used in nearly any shape or form and can be seen in the columns, shield, spiral, cloud, standard, and basket forms. Training plants onto frames creates different shapes with a high flower bud count per plant and per stem with no formal placement of flowers. 

The blooms in this class of chrysanthemum have tubular, straight ray florets with open tips that resemble quills. Their blooms are full and do not have an open center.

The Kurume azalea is known for its vibrant color and delicate artistry. These compact, evergreen type azaleas originally bred in Japan are prized for their brilliant pink, red, and purple blooms that blanket their miniature forms in spring, and their glossy leaves that turn purplish-plum in autumn.  

One of the most interesting features of many Grevillea species is their intricate, tube-shaped flowers that attract specific pollinators. The flowers' long tubular shapes are ideal for birds with long beaks, while their colors and nectar production make them irresistible. It's a great example of co-evolution between plant and pollinator. Although the tree is native to Australia, it was originally introduced to many parts of the world, including Africa and the Pacific Islands, where it became an exotic ornamental plant. Because of its rapid growth and long-lasting wood, some people referred to it as the "Australian timber that traveled the world.“ The Aboriginal people of Australia have a long history of utilizing Grevillea plants in a variety of ways. Some species of Grevillea, particularly the larger, woody shrubs and trees, have a remarkable ability to regenerate after bushfires, which are common in Australia. Grevilleas have adapted to fire-prone environments by having a "fire-resistant" seed bank. Even though the plant might burn down in a fire, the seeds in the soil are often able to survive the heat and sprout anew once the fire has passed. 

Snow Queen oakleaf hydrangea is an all season native, deciduous shrub, with deep green foliage during the growing season turning wine-colored in the autumn.  The panicles of white flowers bloom through June and into July fading to pink and finally a handsome russet in the fall. Snow Queen will grow to six feet high with an equal spread and does well in sun or shade. Hardy in USDA zones 5 to 9.

Amsonia hubrichtii was named  “Perennial Plant of the Year” by the Perennial Plant Association in 2011. This species is truly distinctive and extraordinary, with clusters of powder-blue flowers in April and May. It grows to a height and width of 2 to 3 feet. In the fall, its golden-orange color rivals the best trees and shrubs. This clump-forming herbaceous perennial prefers full sun to partial shade and is native to the central and northeastern United States. Additionally, it is deer and disease resistant.

Now on display, the traditional 1000 Bloom Chrysanthemum, yellow flowering form 'Susono-no-Hikari'.  This ancient technique, known in Japan as Ozukuri, originated hundreds of years ago in Asia and is the most exacting and challenging of all Chrysanthemum training styles.  It takes 17 months and more than 2,000 staff hours to nurture and train this single plant into a perfect blooming dome with one central stem. Each large flower is evenly spaced apart from each other using a supporting frame. Disbudding plants to allow just one flower per individual stem to develop creates a larger bloom. Flowers all are similar in size and bloom at the same time. Fun Fact: Two of the large 1000 Bloom mum plants are grown to maturity, and the strongest plant is selected in October for final display.