Chrysanthemum :

About a thousand varieties of the long-lasting, versatile mum are grown, in single blossoms or sprays. The mum has been cultivated in the Far East for more than two thousand five hundred years, even appearing in the writings of Confucius. What it lacks in sweet perfume-its scent is strong and earthy-it makes up for in a range of bold colors, Several shades are available, including cream, yellow, chartreuse, red, and russet.

Laughter and happiness: That’s what chrysanthemums bring a home, according to followers of feng shui. And Who’s to argue? With Countless varieties, sizes, and colors, mums can brighten and enliven almost every type of bouquet.

The strong association of chrysanthemums with homecoming corsages the size of cheerleaders’ pompons or dyed-green specials for Saint Patrick’s day makes some people automatically reject these flowers as bouquet choices. Our two cents? These are beautiful flowers. They’ve been revered for thousands of years in Japan and China; it’s time for the western world to drop the taboo and step forward to embrace these densely layered blossoms. It’s the same story with carnations, which we’ve also worked to revitalize as a worthy floral choice, and with the unfairly tarnished cockscomb.

The terms mum and chrysanthemum are used interchangeably, though, roughly speaking, mums are chrysanthemums with side shoots pinched so that all the plant’s energy is concentrated on just one bloom per stem, which can eventually result in some gargantuan blossoms- see”homecoming corsages” and dyed-green specials” above!