Each fall, the Japanese Garden at the Missouri Botanical Garden lights up with vibrant fall colors. The diverse tree canopy creates a picturesque foliage, but another autumnal highlight is the cascading mums in the Pring Dry Garden. 

About the plant: Chrysanthemum is a genus of plants containing about 40 species. They originate in the Far East, mostly in China. They have been grown in cultivation for over 3,500 years.  

    In Japan, they have been grown for at least 1,500 years. Since the 12th century, the chrysanthemum has been the Imperial seal of the Emperor of Japan and his family. The Chrysanthemum Throne is the term for the seat of power, similar to the Crown of England, but also the physical ceremonial throne that the emperor sits upon. Today, the chrysanthemum continues to be a plant of note in Japan, with many gardens and towns holding festivals around and including the chrysanthemum.  

About the display: The Garden receives the mums as plugs at the end of March and they are grown individually until they’re big enough to be transferred as groups of three to the main pots. The cascade mums are grown in pots like any other mum, but to train them as a cascade, a flat mesh rack is attached to the pot and oriented at an angle roughly perpendicular to the sun. As the mum grows, the supple new growth is trained with small clips across the mesh, forcing it to grow horizontally instead of vertically. To keep the cascade short, periodically the growth is pinched back so that it does not become too tall. Staff also trim them to prevent them from becoming too tall on the frame. Wiring and trimming are done on a weekly basis. The cascades are placed in full light to promote as much vegetative growth as possible and are regularly fertilized. 

     When the Garden is ready to display them, they are placed in baskets and attached to the stone wall. The growing racks are then bent down so that the growth that was growing horizontally is now "cascading" out of the pot like a waterfall. 

    The cascades will start to bud and flower in response to less daylight as the days get shorter. Left naturally, the cascades will start flowering around mid to late October. The Garden puts the mums out in mid-September, so at the end of July, staff put a black cloth over the mums daily to simulate shorter days and longer nights. This triggers the mums to start budding and flowering earlier.