Mum bonsai

Just getting ready to bloom, I'll post more when it does...

never, ever thought about using mum as bonsai... interesting!

It is interesting !! how long have you had this in training may I ask.. show the flowers please...take care john

There is a long tradition of Chrysanthemum bonsai in Japan.

This is a very nice one, Chappy. Congrats!

Thanks guys...This one was just planted this spring, they grow pretty fast.
I've done them for about three years now, but haven't managed to keep one alive through the winter yet.
I'll repost after they flower.

I picked up half a dozen gnome hybrid cuttings from King's mums this July. Because of heat, and inattention by me, they didn't grow much this year, nothing worth a photo. What have you tried in terms of wintering? I'd like to know what failed, so I can do something different.

I am planning on leaving them out until a light frost, then putting them into a 60 F to 75 F temp range light garden set up that is geared for orchids. I figure to run them as subtropicals until they are bigger and I have extra cuttings from the cultivars I liked (will choose once I've seen the blooms). I also have a weak growing cutting of C. pacifica, which is supposed to be hardy to zone 5, but it was one of the ones July heat really knocked back hard, so it is quite small this year. So this winter I was going to run it as a subtropical.

The plan would be to run them as zone 5 hardy, and winter them outdoors once I have 'spare' cuttings of the ones that I like.
What do you think will work? What clearly doesn't.

For those interested
https://www.kingsmums.com/index.php

Mine came from King's too.
I left them out too long last year I think.
I may try to cut them back this year when they're done flowering.

chappy56 wrote:Mine came from King's too.
I left them out too long last year I think.
I may try to cut them back this year when they're done flowering.

You remember how cold it got before you brought them in? Might be useful. I see mums all around here used as bedding plants, but they were the hybrids bred for hardiness. I don't know what these woody gnomes are hardy to.
I am pretty certain C. pacificum will be hardy here, once my cutting is big enough to get out of a 2 inch pot.
THanks

howdy all,
i have a bunch of mums in my gardens and have been wondering for years if they are just treated a tropical plants and brought inside for winter. i have never had any retain trunk/branch structure outside so are they just the wrong spiecies or do they continue to grow when brought indoors. i am asking because they are getting quite large and i will be dividing them in spring and who could complain about more material to work on thanks

-keith- wrote:howdy all,
i have a bunch of mums in my gardens and have been wondering for years if they are just treated a tropical plants and brought inside for winter. i have never had any retain trunk/branch structure outside so are they just the wrong spiecies or do they continue to grow when brought indoors. i am asking because they are getting quite large and i will be dividing them in spring and who could complain about more material to work on thanks

As a group, Mums are long lived, herbaceous perennials. Most are hardy to at least zone 7, quite a few, especially those descended from Korean and northern Japan species are hardy to zone 4 or 5. But the vast majority, the hardiness is the roots stock, and sub-soil stolons. Most mums loose everything above the soil line after a frost. There are a small handful of species that develop a woody stem, much like rosemary or the Bahama Berry (Nashia) can. One USA species of mum, C. pacificum, can get quite large and have a heavy woody trunk several inches in diameter. The gnome hybrids we're talking about all have one or more woody stemmed species somewhere in their background. The trick I don't know is, how cold can the above ground stem take? Same as roots? or do I start from scratch every year if I let them freeze over the winter? I know the Kings mums website recommends running them as subtropicals, keeping them protected for winter. But they are very thin on specifics. Majority of King's website is geared toward growing Flower and Garden Show Exhibition quality mums, which is not what we are doing. Anyone here know about mums as bonsai?

I'm pretty sure I can run them with some success as sub-tropicals, but them I only have space for one or two long term. If I could run them with a zone 5b winter, outdoors, I can keep a bunch of them.

Years ago I played with them a bunch. They are great to teach technique since you have to do just about everything in a bonsai life cycle in a growing season. And since they tend to be at best, shohin, unless you keep them going over into another season or work with a larger variety, you get to raise a lot of them in a small amount of space...

The definitive text:


The art of the chrysanthemum;: Japanese techniques for creating bonsai, cascades, giants and other potted styles

And an article by "some guy" Dale Colchoy....

http://www.bonsaimary.com/Chrysanthemum-bonsai-part2.html

I have read on "the bonsai journal" in the profile of Mr. W. Valavanis that he has also studied bonsai chrysanthemum culture with Mr. Tameji Nakajima in Tokyo.

I have read on "the bonsai journal" in the profile of Mr. W. Valavanis that he has also studied bonsai chrysanthemum culture with Mr. Tameji Nakajima in Tokyo.

great i'll have to speak to him about this in the spring when i see him again...thanks

Or maybe he will chime in if he's informed in some way about this thread...
In any case, whenever you see him please pass to him warmest regards from a compatriot from Greece, me

Just a little update...

Very pretty Chappy!

Really nice. I like the flowers of that one. My buds got eaten off by squirrels this year. Just as well, I bought my cuttings really late, in July. I did not work them this year. I'll see how they winter over and try my hand next spring.

I love it! We dont get Chrysantemums so readily here in the Country.

Will be nice to be informed as to what specie we are talking about.... Chrysantemum ?
I think Russel will know. ?

Andre I can tell you that much. They're from King's Mums and they're Kotoi No Kaori.
I think I prefer Hatsune though, The blooms are better dispersed instead of bunched like the Kotoi.
I attached the Hatsune from last year.

That is truely gorgeous. Trees on a hill....

No, we dont get them here, surely in Johannesburg but not here in die Wine country. I'm yealous.

Thank you

love and light