Garden mum cultivars are available in a wide assortment of flower colors and forms, plant shapes and sizes, and flowering response in the fall. The basic color classifications are yellow, pink, lavender, white, bronze, red, salmon, and orange. These classifications are useful for production and marketing purposes, yet an amazing range of color tonalities and combinations can be found within each color group. Yellow is the most popular color, representing 26 percent of the market followed by pink and lavender at 22 percent, white, bronze, and red at 14 percent each, salmon at 6 percent, and orange at 4 percent. garden mum flowers are typically smaller (1 to 3 inches in diameter) and more numerous than those on pot mum cultivars.
Garden mum cultivars may also be classified by flower form which refers to the shape, number, and arrangement of ray and disk flowers composing the flower head. The major flower forms in garden mum cultivars are:
Daisies--composed of one or two rows of outer ray flowers surrounding a tight group of short disk flowers with inconspicuous petals.
Quilled--similar to daisies except the petals are narrow at the base and flair toward the end to form a "spoon" shape.
Anemones--similar to daisies except the disk flowers have more conspicuous, elongated and tubular petals forming a cushion.
Spider--similar to the anemone except the petals of the ray and disk flowers are long and tubular.
Pompons--a globular head formed by many short ray flowers of about equal length covering the disk flowers. Small-flowered pompons are called "buttons."
Decoratives--the head is composed of many ray flowers covering the disk flowers, but the outer rows are longer than the inner rows so the flower head is flat and open.
Decorative and daisy flower forms are by far the most popular among garden mum cultivars accounting for 76 percent and 22 percent of the market, respectively. Many plant forms are also available among garden mum cultivars, from tall and upright to low, spreading mounds. Recent trends for landscape and garden application range from spherical plants used as bed fillers and accents to low mounds for edging.
Breeders are actively developing new cultivars with emphasis on plant growth habit, flower color and form, plant flexibility for improved handling, disease resistance, and flowering response in the fall (early, mid, and late season). For this reason, growers should develop a base of one to several cultivars that perform well within each color group and production season to meet customer demands. In addition, a small portion of production should be set aside to trial new cultivars for possible inclusion in the mix to maintain customer interest. Garden mum cultivars that have been show to be suitable for production in the warm climate of the Southeast are indicated in Table 1.
Generally, a knowledge of the market is key to choosing containers. The major portion of garden mum production and marketing is in the 8- by 5-inch plastic 'mum pan'. However, many retailers and their customers can be attracted to a wider range of container sizes and styles. Alternative containers can improve product image, product offering, price points, perceived quality, sales, and profitability. These containers might include 1-, 1.5-, or 2-gallon nursery pots, 5- to 6-inch decorative pots, 10- to 12-inch specimen pots, or 4- and 4.5-inch pots. Many of the low, spreading cultivars make attractive 8- or 10-inch hanging baskets. Each container size can be selected for sale to a different market. Often small size containers are for the price conscious customer, the 8-inch mum pan is for the bulk of sales, and larger containers are for the quality conscious buyer.
Nearly all commercial garden mum growers order either rooted or unrooted cuttings from specialized propagator/breeders. Specialized propagators maintain mother stock that is true to type, use culture-indexing to eliminate diseases, and grow and harvest large areas of stock to supply the market. Purchasing rooted cuttings from specialized propagators is probably the easiest method for most growers, especially those with no or limited propagation space. The cost per cutting may be slightly higher than unrooted cuttings and the grower may have less control over cutting quality, but the cost of facilities and risk required to root cuttings can be prohibitive. The propagation choice then becomes whether to purchase rooted cuttings shipped bare root (wrapped in moist peat moss) or cuttings rooted in cell packs or plugs.
Bare-root cuttings are a fairly perishable product that should be potted into final containers upon arrival. The fact that roots are disturbed for shipping and must re-establish in the new container means that there will be a delay before the cutting resumes growth, that is 'transplant shock'. Cuttings rooted and shipped in cell packs can be watered, fertilized, and pinched in the packs and then transplanted with little or no transplant shock. This does not exclude planting plugs according to schedule and that plugs cost more than bare root cuttings. Rooted cuttings whether bare root or in cell packs should be inspected for insects and disease upon arrival and transplanted into final containers as soon as possible. If this is not possible, bare root cuttings can be stored in a refrigerator at 33 to 40°F for several days.