Expert: Long Island Gardener - 4/26/2010

Question
This past Easter I received a beautiful luscious plum colored "mini mum" from my dearest friend, Laura Jane. At the time when she said, "I didn't give you cut flowers, because flowers die." I didn't realize how soon that would come to mean much more.

The Friday after Easter, Laura passed away and I have this living gift that's all I have left..... as silly as it MAY sound to some of you I will be beyond crushed and angry with myself if this plant dies....

The weather in Connecticut right now is insane.... In early April we had a 92 deg day but a few nights ago, a FROST!!!! WTF! In the sun and warmth, the mum was outside and I couldn't get home before the frost and it was also knock over in the brutal wind. Three stems snapped off and now the plant is in sort of a "C" shape. I've re potted it ever so gently in a bigger pot with
Shultz Potting Soil Plus and mixed in a little Shultz Peat Moss.
It's the most I could due with the money I have.  I could not plant them in the ground because I plan on moving soon.

There is a lot of adequate drainage, but though most of the leaves are holding up ( everyone is telling me how hearty Mums are) I'm so scared they'll die. At least half the flowers have bits of brown on the petals. I need to know what to do from here...!
I'll do anything....! HELP!!!!

Answer
A plum colored Chrysanthemum - What beautiful flowers your friend has gifted you.  I don't blame you for wanting to keep this forever.

True, Chrysanthemums as a category are hardy, grown in Connecticut and other Northern regions. Some are truly perennial and return each year in late summer, disease free, enduring into autumn.

Alas, there is a difference in 'Mums.

You have heard of Florist Mums? They are the royalty of this group, in shapes and colors that dazzle and delight when you see them up close, beautifully photogenic. In some areas, they really can be grown outdoors.

But Florist Mums are also disease prone. Ordinary soil containing ubiquitous bacteria and fungal spores that other flowers might shrug off will make these pampered plants wither away.

Fortunately, 'tis the season to take cuttings, ...

Do you know how to do that?

Get yourself a nice sharp razor and slice diagonally across a stem, just above a leaf bud, 3 inches from the tip. Take your 3 inch long cutting (you can take several, just make sure they are from long stems and remove flowers and flower buds before proceeding) and set it in a shallow bowl filled with MOIST vermiculite, peat moss or sand.

Put your little propagation dish on a protected window sill out of the way of drafts and direct sun. You want bright light, not the sun at high noon.  And wait.

Why do this now? Day length right now will stimulate these plants to grow roots. Toast all your departed friends, then toast the non-departed, and watch what happens. Remember, this is tricky under the BEST of conditions.  If humidity is very low, enclose in a plastic bag to maintain higher moisture in the air and remove daily to replace air.

With any lucky, you'll have a rooted cutting you can plant in a month or so. If it wilts, remove the lower most wilted leaves, then spray and pray.

With the main plant, meantime, I would re-pot it in a terra cotta pot with some good soil. That means NO MIRACLE GRO Soil. Find something organic at the garden center.  It should not cost a lot. Something without fertilizer. This plant does not need any more fertilizer.  It got plenty of that at the greenhouse, where it was probably force fed with all kinds of hormones and nutrients to get blooms against the calendar.  Be gentle.  Let the roots dry out between waterings, and wait.

You know, Amanda, the greenest-thumbed gardener loses hundreds of plants in her/his lifetime.  This is just a simple fact of life.  It's not bad, it's not good.  It's just the way things are.  Remember that, Amanda.  Consider the possibility that you may not save this plant.  Hope for the best.  Prepare for the worst.

And now I have something else to say.

We all lose people we love. It very easy to forget that these times end. It is so easy to think, I have so many plans today, I must do this, I must do that, I must be going, I'll see you when I get back.  This goes on for years, sometimes for many years. We spend time with people we love; when those days end, all we have is memories, and there never are enough of them.

Plants come and go, flowers bloom and fade. We love, we lose. There are some of us, myself included, who have some wonderful, wonderful friends.  We are the lucky ones, Amanda.  And nothing can ever take that away from us. Not even when a flower fades and disappears.

Those who we love who are still here -- our times with them, too, do not last forever.

Good luck with your Chrysanthemum.  My prayers for your friend.

L.I.G.