Written by Tolly Beck
Tolly Beck is the horticulturist at Lasdon Park and Arboretum in Westchester County. She was formerly a horticulture educator for New York Botanical Gardens in the Bronx and Cornell Cooperative Extension of Rockland, NY.
What’s In Bloom
Perennials
Korean mums
Montauk daisy Nipponanthemum nipponicum
New York aster Novi-belgii
In the Spotlight
Korean Mums
Yearning for one last look at a summer- like garden perennial? Hardy Korean mums will more than fulfill this wish. Korean mums look very different from the traditional cushion mums with their tight mounds of red, yellow and orange flowers usually found on porches and containers in fall.
Korean mums are on average about 30” in height and have a more open, looser habit. They are the last chrysanthemums to bloom and their flowers reflect the feel of summer with pastel colors of pink, peach, apricot, yellow as well as coppery red. Korean mums bloom in October and well into November and offer not only late beauty in the garden but also food for pollinators.
Sun and a well-drained soil are required when planted either in the garden or in containers. They have few disease or insect problems and are considered low maintenance perennials. Korean mums grow in hardiness zones 4-9 making them hardy in our area.
Lasdon had Korean Mums planted in the circles this year in the Lasdon Memorial Garden and they are in the large containers on the courtyard patio. They make a unique change and allow us to hang on to autumn for just a little longer.