Gardening Questions: PINK Chrysanthemums??

Replies: 22 Views: 223

Author	Comment
Acemoose Arlington, VA November 10, 2008 1:36 PM	Two years ago at Thanksgiving 2006, I was given a potted Chrysanthemum after church service -- the flowers were dark burnt orange. After the flowers died I cut it back and put it on my balcony until it got too cold and then brought it in and coddled it for the winter-- setting it back outside once again, in late April (I'm a Zone 6). During the growing season, I gave it a little MirAcid, and kept growing it in the same pot (about 12" in diameter) When the flowers bloomed again, they were HOT PINK. That was 2007. After thos flowers died I cut it back and put it on my balcony until it got too cold and then brought it in and coddled it for the winter-- setting it back outside once again, in late April. NOW the flowers bloomed again, and they are a beautiful Light Pink!! Why aren't the flowers Dark Burnt Orange?? What did I do???????? (Picture is forthcoming)
britbrighton Ancram, NY November 12, 2008 8:00 AM	Hmmmm....maybe too much acid? Also, sometimes replanting the mums in different soil changes the chemistry a bit. I have hyndrangeas that were supposed to be a beautiful deep blue BUT when I planted the row, one came up pink and the other blue (with hydrangeas, pink blooms mean alkaline soil, and blue blooms mean acid soil!) Being planted side by side and both of them having two completely different colors emerging was a real shocker. I am still not entirely sure what was going on but the area I planted them was tilled with ash and also a very acid soil so maybe some alkaline got through. Maybe your potting soil or miracid simply did something to the color. I suppose as long as you like the pink, then its all right! I will upload two photos for you of my two Nikko blues and how different they looked.........I actually love the pink too so I might not amend the soil to turn it blue! Hope it helped-Brit View Larger
britbrighton Ancram, NY November 12, 2008 8:01 AM	and the pink............ View Larger
NatureLover1950 Vicksburg, MS (Zone 8a) November 12, 2008 12:42 PM	LOL britbrighton--I bought a Niko Blue hydrangea that bloomed pink! I have it in a pot on my front porch. Acemoose--I've never heard of mums doing that before! Maybe you've got a new hybrid! I've got to keep an eye on this post to see if anyone else has ever had this happen with mums--I'm real curious.
Acemoose Arlington, VA November 12, 2008 1:21 PM	I love those Litmus Paper flowers!! (What us kids used to call Hydranegeas -- we were inspired by our Science classes and experiments with litmus paper) Hydrangeas were the flower bush of choice in our Bronx neighborhood (along with the beautiful wild lilacs that grew near the highway) -- many of those bushes had pink and blue flowers -- and some of them had White flowers!! Yours are lovely!! Thanks for the information!!! View Larger
midwest_tyro Mount Prospect, IL (Zone 5b) November 12, 2008 2:56 PM	I have a neighbor whose mum did the same of thing, completely changed color the next year. Sorry no idea why, but a change in pH seems like a good possibility, or maybe something the grower treated it with in the greenhouse to make it produce burnt orange flowers?
britbrighton Ancram, NY November 12, 2008 3:59 PM	My Nikko's are just babies but that was their very first set of blooms and they were the size of a vollyball! They are very precocious I guess...In Long Island they have many blue hydrangeas because the soil is just right...I do like the pink mums. Orange is great but very autumnal, at least pink is a nice all season color. I have dark maroon ones on my porch in a pot and now that they are starting to die down from the chill, I am not sure what to do with them. The color doesn't really compliment my English garden with all its pinks and whites and purples!
Acemoose Arlington, VA November 14, 2008 11:19 AM	Dark Maroon Chrysanthemeums?? Well.... they are being individualists!! Kudos to them!! (Hmm.. maybe a little Miracid might change their hue for next year??) Bring em in -- I'm sure they'll be happy in a nice warm kitchen -- which is where my pinkies will go once the weather starts to remain cold outside. I love my pink chrysanthemums-- the only disappointing thing about them is that I had planned to pose my orange and black Cee Cee kitty next to them to bring out the color of the flowers -- that is, until I realized what color the flowers were going to be! LOL!!! PS -- for those of you who saw and commented on my huuuge white and tabby kitty, Big Bad baby Twinkle, reclining full length on 1/3 (LOL!!) of my balcony, Cee Cee is BBBT's nemesis-- half her weight, half her size, but quite formidable. This message was edited Nov 14, 2008 10:21 AM View Larger
britbrighton Ancram, NY November 14, 2008 4:36 PM	Haven't you ever seen dark maroon chrysanthemums? Is it weird?
DanceyTx Midway, TX (Zone 8b) November 14, 2008 7:28 PM	Every mum I ever had would eventually change colors. I would love to have some white ones this year but I know they won't stay white. Yes I have seen the dark maroon mums. I think they are pretty and would look lovely with some stark white ones. If I could only keep them the original color. Lin This message was edited Nov 14, 2008 5:29 PM
Acemoose Arlington, VA November 17, 2008 10:22 AM	To britbrighton: Re: dark maroon chrysanthemums -- Never have seen that color, would LOVE to, and probably will come across such a critter one of these growing seasons -- actually the local pharmacy here (how I MISS my local Woolworth's plant department!!) has a few pots of dark dark orange chrysies with light tan borders on their petals -- scrumptious!!! This message was edited Nov 17, 2008 9:23 AM
britbrighton Ancram, NY November 17, 2008 10:18 PM	Here they are.....keep in mind that the frost got to them so they are mostly dead but you still can see the maroon....I bought a really neat colored bunch of mums that I have never seen before....pink flowers gradually turning white towards the yellow centers. I should have taken a photo before the frost killed them but I didn't...shame on me!-Brit View Larger
britbrighton Ancram, NY November 17, 2008 10:20 PM	and another... View Larger
britbrighton Ancram, NY November 17, 2008 10:21 PM	EEK...they look pretty bad in a photograph. They are a much deeper/richer maroon in real life! The dead heads don't photo well either, ha ha..
flowerfantasy Washington, IN (Zone 6a) November 21, 2008 4:46 PM	Brit, I live in Indiana and the Maroon mums (as we call them) are all over around here. I had some for a while but they get really leggy on me and look awful that way so I just left them at the house we sold , when we move to the country. Have you seen the purple ones? They are beautiful in color.
britbrighton Ancram, NY November 21, 2008 5:17 PM	Yes, I have a deep purple too (is that what you mean?) I heard something about pinching mums at a certain time, keeps them shorter and more compact, not leggy. Did anyone ever hear of this? I was only half-listening, as usual....lol
flowerfantasy Washington, IN (Zone 6a) November 21, 2008 5:22 PM	Yeah they are a deep purple and I tried the pinching as that was what I was told to do to keep them from getting leggy but didn't seem to help mine any. DH wanted to get some but I told him I don't have the knack for them I guess.
britbrighton Ancram, NY November 21, 2008 7:58 PM	This is my first garden (first house and all that) so I am new to this and may be wrong but now that I think of it, I don't really see mums in NY but for the autumn. I suppose they are more of a harvest-time flower here? I have never seen them in anyone's garden...And this is the first year I have seen the festive purple ones and pink ones not just the autumnal yellow/oranges/reds/maroons. I put the pinks and purples in my garden but the maroons don't really go with my garden. I have no idea what to do with them after Thanksgiving...
flowerfantasy Washington, IN (Zone 6a) November 21, 2008 8:14 PM	Well around here our Mums are perinnals so they just get trimmed back and left until next year. Most people here put them right in the ground. Then probably in your area you would have to take them up and put in pots to overwinter. Get you some white ones to go with them and that should balance it out. I love the flowers but like I said I just am not doing something right when it comes to keeping them from getting leggy
weedsfree Magna, UT (Zone 7a) December 7, 2008 5:47 PM	I have never had that happen with my mums. I am also zone 6. I leave them outside all year long, do not cut them back or supplement the soil, hardly ever. Mine always come true from the year before. I have just had problems with my tulips doing that. So I suggest you just leave them out all year long.
Carolyn22 Athens, PA (Zone 5b) December 7, 2008 8:38 PM	Brit, The change in color could be due to fertilizing with an acid fertilizer, but there also could have been more than 1 type of mum that was growing in your pot and perhaps that mum did not flower until this year. I do think in the nursery where they mass pot the mums that it would be very easy for a stray seed or two to end up in the wrong pot. The picture I have attached is a picture of a mum I planted outside 2 years ago. As you can see, it is a red mum - but if you look closely to the side of it, you will see a pink mum growing in amongst the red mum. This pink mum did not show itself last year, however I do think that it was in the pot with the red mum when I planted the whole thing. From what I have read, mums need a complete fertilizer of either 5-10-10 or 5-10-5 - just wondering why the acid fertilizer? Also, your zone is a tad cooler than mine - I have had about 50-50 luck with planting mums outside. I would definitely give it a try - you may lose half of them like I did, but the half that come back make it well worth the effort as they come back so big and beautiful when little else is blooming in the Fall garden - this picture was taken mid to late October. Carolyn View Larger
weedsfree Magna, UT (Zone 7a) December 8, 2008 12:04 PM	I love the single blooming mums. Mine are all doubles. Pretty cool.
britbrighton Ancram, NY December 8, 2008 11:50 PM	Carolyn, Ace was the thread starter and she added miracid to her mums. I just let mine be. Truth be told, I am not a big fan of the autumnal mums as I mentioned before. It must be the trauma of living as a 1970's baby with all that dark brown, harsh yellow and such. The new bright pinks/whites and deep purples and less traditional colors I just love. As I mentioned, I am at a loss for what to do with my maroon ones now that autumn here has passed to snow.....your reds look similar to my maroons. I do think acid plays a part (note my hydrangea photos above) :)

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