Chrysanthemum ‘Colina Orange’

Hardy Mum
Chrysanthemum ‘Colina Orange’

Out of all of the mums that we planted this year ‘Colina Orange’ was the best. There are several factors that go into that assessment and remember that it is just a local observation. These mums bloomed the longest and best of any of the about 20 cultivars that we used. They went on for many weeks in both containers and in the ground. The color was a nice shade of orange and that seemed to fit the season well. One plant that I had at home was mixed with a ‘Colina Red’ Chrysanthemum and that was just perfect.

‘Colina Orange’ is a mid-season blooming Belgian type of mum. That is to say it started blooming in mid-season and lasted almost as long as the late-season ones. The flowers didn’t look bad after they faded. My only complaint would be that the flowers were a little small but that is minor (can’t have everything, you know). This year for the first time in a long time I decided to try save some of the mums. ‘Colina Orange ’ was one of the cultivars selected for the over wintering test. The mums were removed from their containers and planted around the second week of November. We used wood chips and leaves to almost completely cover the plant. They will have to be removed in the spring. ‘Blizzard’ was another one I tried to save. Let’s see if they are really ‘Hardy Mums’. As a gardener I have to optimistic or I wouldn’t be able to get out of bed in the morning but there is a tinge of pessimism creeping in here with regards to the mums.

This picture was taken in late fall and kind of represents the depth of field I would like to get on more of my flower pictures. The flower is Willow leafed Sunflower (Helianthus salicifolius 'First Light'). It did really well in the garden and ‘First Light’ is a nice cultivar that was developed by Dr. Keith Hammett of New Zealand. It stays more compact and shorter than the species.


What a crazy weather day we had yesterday. If anyone is reading this from the eastern United States you know what I mean. There were several inches of rain and the temperature was hovering at 34 degrees. We dodged a real bullet because about 20 miles north of here there was a pretty big ice storm that knocked out the power and caused a lot of tree limbs to fall. After a cold weekend it is going to be in the 50’s next week, which will be perfect as a couple of customers have called with a few items that we forgot to take care of for the winter. We are on a very limited part-time schedule now.

Today I have to deliver the last of the holiday plants we give out as presents to the people whose gardens we take care of. Just two 12-inch Poinsettias (a ‘Burgundy’ and a ‘Vision of Grandeur’) and an Orchid. The Poinsettias are huge and really full. We bought them at Chadds Ford Greenhouses in Pennsylvania. It was a very cool place (they don’t have a website or I would link to it) that had a really nice assortment of Poinsettia cultivars and other seasonal plants. I wish they were closer I would definitely buy plants from them.