Garden Notes

Ryan's Pink Mum still blooming 2 days after November snowstorm

My gardening goal each year is to have something blooming from earliest spring until the snow flies. A couple of years ago, I discovered Ryan’s Pink Mum, an upright chrysanthemum with single soft pink flowers and yellow centers. This mum is beautiful, exceptionally hardy and survives with virtually no pampering. To me however, the most outstanding feature is that it blooms when almost everything else is finished for the year. In my garden, Ryan’s Pink Mum starts to flower in late September and it can survive freezing cold and even snow. We are now in the second week of November and my plant still has flowers. We’ve already had a number of hard frosts and some snow and if we get a bit a warm weather, that mum will perk up and keep going. On my whole street, our yard is the only one with perennials still blooming!

Planting Information

• Planting Range: Ryan’s Pink Mum is hardy in zones 3-9
• Planting needs: full sun and well drained soil
• Bloom Time: Hardy mums are “photoperiodic” and bloom in response to shorter days. Street lights and night lights can interrupt this cycle so do not plant them near artificial light.
• Size: Ryan’s mum needs to be cut in half in late spring and again a few weeks later to keep it shorter, otherwise it grows to about 3 feet. This plant is very hardy and gets a bit bigger each year so there is plenty to divide in spring and share with admiring friends.