Where do I buy good chrysanthemums in Canada?

Contact Ann Polera at annpolera@gmail.com. Ann has a vast selection of available cuttings. She has a colour catalogue she can email to you.

Lori Peplinskie also sells cuttings and dahlia tubers at: www.singingmeadowsfarm.com

A few cuttings are available at the Hamilton and District Chrysanthemum and Dahlia auction in April, see website for date.

Where can I get good information about growing chrysanthemums?

Subscribe to the Canadian Chrysanthemum and Dahlia Society located in Toronto. They are very active mum group with newsletters and information sessions. Their website address is mumsanddahlias.com. Befriend them on facebook for lots of information.

How do I store chrysanthemums over the winter? Ann Polera says:

Cut the stalk back, leaving about 6 to 8 inches of length. Remove any green leaves so that you don't keep any bugs. If you have grown in pots, you can leave in the pot. If you were growing the mum in the garden, pot it up in either a pot or rigid box/crate if you have several of the same variety. We use pots and wooden grape boxes. You can clip off some of the small hairy roots if you are trying to fit several in. If the stool has rhizomes with leaves, trim the leaves back carefully to reduce hiding spaces for bugs. Sometimes the rhizomes are rather long, making it difficult to fit the stool into the pot. If the rhizome has a good root system, you can trim it off the main stem and pot it alongside the original plant, or separately.

After potting, water just enough to settle the soil around the roots. During storage, only water if the soil is getting very dry, you may only need to mist around the top of the stool occasionally. Overwatering risks root rot.

Store them in a cool area above freezing and below 7 degrees C, if possible. Provide air circulation to prevent mold. Light is not necessary while they are dormant.

When you want to get them growing again, bring them into a warm area of 13 to 20 deg. C. We put ours on a heated bench in the greenhouse. If you are growing October and November flowering types, I suggest providing light for 13 to 15 hours per day so that the mums don't start producing buds.