100 Flowers: 1 Plant

© Bunkyo Museum, Tokyo, Japan
Artist: Kuniyoshi Utagawa
Hyakushu-tsugiwake-giku (hundreds varieties grafted chrysanthemum)

One hundred different chrysanthemum flowers grafted onto one plant? What an extraordinary thought! Our mum team would love to take credit for this great idea; however, this horticulture art form has surprisingly been around for hundreds of years in China and Japan. Today you can find it on display in only two places worldwide, and Longwood Gardens is proud to be one of them.

Five years ago, my friend showed me a note card with a picture of a multi-flowered chrysanthemum. It was an old Japanese wood block print, or Ukiyoe, made in the 18th century (Edo period). He asked, “Can you make this?” I had no idea how it was made. Throughout 2008 and 2009 I visited Japan to learn how to graft mums from Mr. Hiroshi Saito, and how to recreate the traditional 100 cultivar bloom from Mr. Akiyoshi Oshiro. Mr. Oshiro was the first to recreate this 18th century chrysanthemum art at the Hamamatsu Flower Park in Japan. He generously shared his special skill with me, which I brought back to Longwood Gardens.

Mr. Oshiro’s 100 cultivar grafted mum (Hyakushu-tsugiwake-giku) at the Hamamatsu Flower Park

In 2009 we made our first attempt at a 100 cultivar mum. It had only 36 different flowers.  Someone mentioned that it was so ugly, so we practiced our skill, and by 2010 we successfully displayed 96 flowers. In 2011 we reached our 100 cultivar goal.

The mum starts off as a small cutting in October—an entire year before it goes on display. We grow, train, and pinch it the same as we would a small 1,000 bloom mum.  By June, the single plant has almost 200 stems and is ready to graft. The mum gets divided into four sections, each section receiving around the same number of stems. Mum varieties used for grafting are selected by their bloom time, color, flower shape, and size. Some of the mum varieties are from Longwood’s own stock, but other varieties are bought from domestic suppliers as small cuttings and grown specifically for this project. Unfortunately, in the United States we do not have as many varieties to choose from as in China or Japan, and we are unable to import any new varieties.

The 100 cultivar mum in June, when it’s ready to graft

A cutting labeled with its name, color, and flower type

The grafted mum is kept under shade and misted to insure the grafts do not dry out

After about 2 weeks, the grafts have taken and the mum starts to grow

We start grafting the first week of July, approximately 25 to 30 stems a day. To learn about this technique, read our blog or watch our video.  After each cutting is grafted on to a stem, it gets a label with its name, color, and flower type. Once grafting has started, the mum is kept under shade and is misted to insure the grafts do not dry out. In about two weeks the grafts will have taken to the base mum and should start to grow. During the summer, we remove the side shoots and keep the stems tied down so that the flowers are easier to arrange in the final form.

In September, we disbud each stem so that a single large flower for each variety remains. In October, we start framing for the final shape. Longwood’s framing is a modified version of the traditional Japanese style—ours looks more like a wedding cake. Each flower gets a rindai (white ring) placed underneath to support the flower so that it stays in good condition. The final decorated mum is positioned on a turn table so visitors can view all of the different chrysanthemum varieties.

In 2012, our mum has a total of 113 varieties and 146 flowers. You can find it in the East Conservatory. We hope you enjoy our rendition of this 18th century Japanese chrysanthemum art!

Final framing begins with a large mass of tangled mum stems and ends with a wedding cake of beautiful individually placed flowers

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The Art of Grafting Chrysanthemums

Tri-colored dome chrysanthemum on display at Longwood Gardens, 2009 (photo: L. Albee)

Ever wonder what is going on in the greenhouses at this time of the year? While you are enjoying the beautiful summer display, Longwood’s growers are already getting ready for fall! One of our biggest projects at this time of year is to complete the grafting process that allows us to grow the large specialty chrysanthemums that will be on display during our Chrysanthemum Festival.

Grafting chrysanthemums is not a common subject you learn in school. We were taught this special technique from Chinese and Japanese specialty chrysanthemum growers, and use it to make eye-catching specialty mum forms for our display. Grafting mums is very common in China and has a long history, but there are no written records of when it started. In Japan, the first record is found on an 18th century Ukiyoe, a wooden block printing. We began practicing this new technique a couple of years ago and are continually learning and experimenting to create new forms.

During last year’s display, we had many different forms, including the tri-colored dome, 100-cultivar, pagoda, tri-colored shield, and pom-pom. We first trialed the tri-colored dome in 2008. You might remember the first one was not perfect, but with practice we are getting better. We saw our first pagoda shape in 1995 when somebody brought us a picture. We had no idea how to make it until we saw a Chinese display in 2010. We had tried various, small experiments but were unable to finish until we learned hands-on, and last year’s pagoda was our first on display.

100-cultivar chrysanthemum, 2011 (photo: L. Albee)

Pagoda chrysanthemum, 2011

Tri-colored shield chrysanthemum, 2011

Pom-pom chrysanthemum, 2011

We graft our chrysanthemums on two different stocks—either on chrysanthemum stock or Artemisia (Artemisia annua) stock. You may be familiar with Artemisia annua, commonly known as sweet Annie or annual wormwood. We use the Artemisia to get the benefit of its strong root system for summer heat, disease and insect resistance. It also has many side shoots that grow close together on the stem and a tall growth habit.

Artemesia with grafted mum tips

The grafting style we use is called “cleft style.” As you see in this video, we slice the stock stem down the center and insert the tapered grafting tip into the slit. Then we carefully wrap it with Parafilm, which is commonly used in laboratories. It holds the grafted tip tightly in place, seals the cutting area and helps the cut surfaces not to dry out. In two weeks, the tip tissue connects to the stock and it starts growing. The key to successful grafting is for the stock stem to be young and fresh (the inside green with no pith). Sometimes the Artemisia stem accepts the graft with some pith inside, but it’s difficult to get good results. Matching the stem thickness between stock stem and grafting tip is also important to connect the vascular systems together.

In hot and dry conditions, the grafted plants are kept under shade cloth and misted as needed. Sometimes, we use small plastic bags to keep the grafts moist. In this year’s wet and cloudy conditions, grafting is going well without misting or using the plastic bags, but it depends on the day.

A pagoda form with the grafts protected by plastic bags

Creating our specialty mum forms is a year-long process. For example, to make the pagoda form, we start Artemisia seeds in fall and grow in cool conditions. Then we graft the chrysanthemum tips in May and June, once the Artemisia stems get thick enough to match to the chrysanthemum shoot. As the Artemisia stems grow thicker, we will graft several chrysanthemum stems, according to thickness, at a time. We pinch the tips to promote more stems until the middle of July, and disbud to one flower in September. Just before flowering, we arrange the flowers to make the roof shape, using twist ties and bamboo.

Soon we will begin grafting the 100-cultivar chrysanthemum for this year’s display. Stay tuned to our blog for more on that later this summer!

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No Ordinary Mum

Come see our Thousand Bloom Chrysanthemum now in the East Conservatory!

Do you hear the word chrysanthemum and picture those simple household flowers from the local garden shop? At Longwood Gardens, we take the ordinary mum and make it extraordinary, turning it into a work of art—the Thousand Bloom Chrysanthemum!

We started our Thousand Bloom Chrysanthemum from vegetative cuttings of Chrysanthemum x morifolium ‘Sosono no Tsuki’ in May 2010. In order to grow this year’s mum, we had to overcome the challenges of heat, rain (Hurricane Irene!), stink bugs, and the 12’ 7” wide door of the East Conservatory (which was just barely wide enough to bring the mum through).

Each year, we grow two plants to help ensure we can reach our goal of more than 1,000 blooms on a single plant. Each month, both plants are repotted, pinched, tied, and framed as needed. In the end, we will use only one of them for display in the Conservatory. Here is a slideshow that documents the mum’s growth over the past year. Please enjoy!

MONTHLY PROGRESS:

May 2010: Several cuttings are taken from stock plants grown at Longwood. After two weeks they are brought into the greenhouse to harden off and are then transplanted into 4” pots.

June 2010: The plants are transplanted into larger pots and have their stems scratched (scarification) with a knife to apply rooting hormone. This creates a larger root system to support the enormous top growth.

Stem scarification

To prevent flowering, the plants are placed in a greenhouse lit at night. During  summer, the plants continue to grow and are pinched at around 2” tall to encourage 14-18 shoots by first pinching. We continue to pinch every 6-8 leaves depending on stem length.

December 2010: Two plants are selected and placed into final growing containers that are custom made by Longwood’s carpenters. The containers are made with dividers so that the volume of soil can increase as the plant grows. The main metal support structure is also put into place and will extend as the plant grows. Stems are bent down to begin forming the structure of the final plant.

February 2011: The first set of framing is applied to the main support structure. Each frame layer is constructed on site and is made of fiberglass rods wrapped in black tape. The tape makes the rods easy to handle and also adds a bit of friction to help us twist the ties used to hold the stems to the rods. The fiberglass rods are joined by custom-made connectors and tied together with zip ties.

March 2011: Another set of framing is added, increasing the overall width by about 5-8″. To increase the number of branches, we pinch and then tie each stem to the fiberglass frame with a twist tie.

After we place the mums into their final growing container, we continually coax them to grow bigger—with pinching (to encourage branching) as well as proper watering and fertilization techniques (to encourage healthy growth). The plants are monitored for any signs of disease or insects that are treated as needed.

Each month, depending on growth, the fiberglass framework is extended to help encourage growth and to continue to support the stems as we reach our final size.

July 5, 2011 – Before framing

July 7, 2011 – First layer tied

July 13, 2011 – Over half way

July 15, 2011 – All stems tied

September 8, 2011 – Stems are evenly spaced and tips lined up

September 2011:As the buds begin to form, we begin to disbud the mums. This process involves taking all of the smaller side buds off and only allowing the main center bud to continue to grow, resulting in one beautiful  4-5” flower on each stem.

Disbudding - removing the smaller side buds

Placing each flower into a Rindai support

October 2011: Less than one month before the beginning of Chrysanthemum Festival, we select our display plant and begin final flower placement. The frame is custom made each year based on the plant’s size.

Longwood’s Chrysanthemum specialist and her crew of interns, international students, seasonal, and part-time staff members begin by arranging the flowers on the top first and working their way down, making sure each row is placed perfectly in concentric rings and that each flower is lovingly placed into a Rindai support to properly position it.

View of the one stem, main support frame, and perforated pvc pipes (in place to aerate the soil)

The process of placing the flowers takes about 10 days, at the end of which we finally know the answer to everyone’s question, “HOW MANY BLOOMS THIS YEAR??” After achieving 991 blooms on the 2010 Thousand Bloom Chrysanthemum, our goal was to beat that number. And we did!!!  This year’s total is 1,167 flowers!!!

As you can see, a lot of time and effort goes into producing the Thousand Bloom Chrysanthemum. It’s on display now in the East Conservatory. Make sure to kneel down to see the one stem coming from the soil!

The Chrysanthemum Festival, October 29–November 20, showcases thousands of amazing chrysanthemums throughout the Conservatory, including Cascade style, topiaries, single stem mums and the Thousand Bloom Chrysanthemum.

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The Art of Cascade Chrysanthemums at Longwood Gardens

Some of the forms currently being grown for Longwood's 2010 Chrysanthemum Festival

Cascade chrysanthemums have long been at the heart of Longwood Gardens’ annual Chrysanthemum Festival.  Longwood grows specialty mums (Chrysanthemum x moriflorum) that originated in China and Japan and are selected for their ability to create beautiful and lasting forms.  Over the years, Longwood’s amazing show of form and color has been continually modified and refined.  Guests marvel at the captivating shapes and often ask us how we create these wonderful pieces of horticulture.  The following is meant to highlight a little behind-the-scenes action and hint at some of the spectacular forms you will see this November in our Conservatory.

Newly potted chrysanthemum cuttings in January, 2010

At two months old the mums are ready to begin training.

Beginning 15 months before the display date, the design team, in conjunction with the grower, makes final chrysanthemum cultivar choices for the following year.  Stock plants—from which we take all of our final plants—are created in order to bulk up on material.  In mid-December the final plants are started as small cuttings.  We begin heavy

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