What’s in Bloom

The pagoda mum towers are a stunning blend of horticulture and art, featuring the cultivar Chrysanthemum × morifolium ‘Seiko’. Using a clever grafting technique, chrysanthemum shoots are attached to a central stem of Artemisia annua and trained to form tiered layers that mimic traditional Asian pagodas. The result is a vertical floral structure that combines precise training, grafting, and design, one of many specialty forms that make the festival a showcase of botanical craftsmanship! 

Native to the southeastern United States, oakleaf hydrangea is a 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. Growing to eight feet high with an equal spread and does well in sun or shade. Hardy in USDA zones 5 to 9, this hydrangea prefers moist, fairly rich, well-drained soil to grow.

Boston-based bonsai master Suthin Sukosolvisit, considered the best non-Japanese trained artist in the western world, designed and cultivated this tree.  The balance of roots over rock and its dense canopy of branches is an ideal example of a style that became popular in Japan more than a hundred years ago.

Now on display in the Potting Shed, a charming collection of chrysanthemum bonsai forms, skillfully created by our staff, students, and interns. Be sure to stop by as we get closer to the return of our upcoming Chrysanthemum Festival, on view October 24–November 16!

Irregular incurve mums are one of the largest chrysanthemum flower classes. The ray florets incurve in an irregular manner, forming a very large bloom. Our Horticulture team prunes, pinches, and disbuds the mums you see in the beds to encourage larger flower sizes and more spectacular blooms. By disbudding, all of the plant’s energy is directed to a single flower. ‘Bola de Oro’ has a bloom 6-8 inches wide and high.

Chrysanthemums, a member of the aster family, have blooms which are composed of many tiny flowers known as florets.  There are 13 classes of chrysanthemums, defined by the National Chrysanthemum Society, which categorize the plant by bloom shapes.  Anemone mums have prominent, raised, cushion-like centers, made up of disk florets, and petal-like ray florets which surround the center.

Fothergilla gardenii, dwarf fothergilla, is member of the witch-hazel family, native to the southeastern United States from North Carolina to Georgia.  This deer resistant shrub has fragrant, white bottle-brush flowers in April and May and prefers growing in full sun to light shade in moist, well-draining soil.  Dwarf fothergilla has beautiful fall foliage in shades ranging from yellow to dark red. 

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.

Osmanthus heterophyllus is a broadleaf, evergreen shrub, indigenous to Korea, Taiwan and Japan, with glossy, deep green leaves with spines that resemble hollies. The little white blossoms that appear in October and November fill the garden with fragrance.  ‘Gulftide’ is a selection that grows to 5 feet tall and 3 feet across. It thrives in either sun or partial shade, and any type of soil, even dense clay.  Holly osmanthus is not eaten by deer and has no serious pests or diseases and can be cultivated as an individual specimen, combined with other shrubs, or shaped into a lovely hedge.

Widespread in its native home of South Africa, this plant favors loam or clay soils and can be found growing in full sun amongst rocks or grasslands. The orange flowers can be spotted from late summer, all through autumn, and attract birds and butterflies with their nectar, making the garden a hub of activity. Early South African dwellers (Khoisan) smoked the dried leaves and flowers, reporting a feeling of calm and euphoria, giving birth to the common name, wild dagga. The leaves are rough on the upper surface, with toothed margins and give off a herbal aroma when brushed or crushed.

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.