New American Grown Pompons from Sun Valley

Pompons growing in Oxnard.

Valentine’s Day is over, and as the dreamy look fades from people’s eyes (and many others breathe a sigh of relief), our cold winter marches on. Despite the February grey, one of our flowers has warmly risen to the occasion to convince me that No, it is not winter, and No, I am not seasonally-distressed.

What is this yarn-spinning flower? The colorful and aptly-named Button Pom Chrysanthemum.

Chrysanthemums (also called “mums”) originated in China, entered the written record some 3500 years ago, and have been pleasing eyes ever since. They have been intensively bred for the last few centuries, resulting in quite a number of bloom forms (around thirteen, according to the National Chrysanthemum Society)—you may have heard them referred to as Cushion Mums, Spoons, Quills, Spider Mums, Button Poms, and Pompons (sounds like a caravan of colorful characters, doesn’t it?).

The majority of mums are sprays, which have several flowers per stem. We grow a variety of these—known as Poms or Button Poms—which were so-named in Versailles, circa 1847, because of their resemblance to the pompoms on the hats of French sailors.

To get some insight on these flowers’ various forms and breeding history, I called up the “Hank Aaron” of plant breeding—our friend and Mum Expert on the East Coast, Case Vandenberg. This guy has been breeding chrysanthemums for well over 30 years and possesses twice as many patents as the runner-up. If you have seen a new mum, there’s a good chance he knows its mother.

Hello Spring!

When breeding these particular flowers, Case’s main concern was improving their response times (how long it takes to flower), as well as resistance to disease, uniformity in crop growth, and, of course, the size and number of buds per stem. The more blooms the better, and the stronger the stems, the more long-lasting the flower. All good news for anyone who wants to enjoy the presence of these flowers for as long as possible.

"Dark Splendid" variety

Counter-intuitively, these bright flowers like the dark. They’re traditionally a fall crop, which means they need short days and long nights in order to flower. Here at Sun Valley, we grow them year-round in our greenhouses down in Oxnard, California. And unlike our main crops grown from bulbs, we start chrysanthemums from cuttings (a piece of stem cut from a source plant). According to Case, chrysanthemums do extremely well from cuttings—seeds, typically, are only used for breeding.

"Factor" Variety of Pompon

We originally started growing Pompon mums because we needed a dependable and vibrant flower that would add color to our American Grown Bouquets. Their many-layered, warmly hued petals bring a long-lasting brightness to any room and any season, whether they’re alone or added to bouquets.

Visit our website to check out their versatile role as our Sun Pacific Bouquet enhancers. As you take-in these colorful blooms, remember—spring is just around the corner.