THE
LONG ISLAND
CHRYSANTHEMUM SOCIETY
INC.
DEDICATED TO THE AMATEUR "MUM" GROWER AND ALL CHRYSANTHEMUM LOVERS OF LONG ISLAND NY AND THE WORLD
The purpose of this web site is to inform you about the activities, objectives, and history of the society, introduce you to basic information about the chrysanthemum, and connect you to sources of further information on the Internet and in print.
This web site first came on line on 17 Sept. 2010. It was last updated 7 May 2012. The webmaster is Joel R. Simon. Questions and comments may be directed to info@longislandmums.org
Webmaster Joel R. Simon has composed a detailed bibliography of books about chry-santhemum culture etc.
We invite you to become a member of the Long Island Chrysanthemum Society (LICS). Learn more and access a membership form.
The Long Island Horticultural Society (LIHS), founded in 1934, is "dedicated to bringing our members useful information about gardening and to providing inspiration via interesting and knowledgeable speakers on a wide range of horticultural topics."
The following slate of officers were elected at the annual LICS meeting on 25 March 2012: President, Joel R. Simon; Vice President, Richard Murcott; Treasurer, John Capobianco; Recording/Corresponding Secretary, Renu Sharma; Membership Secretary, Joan Corbisiero; Director (3 yrs), Paul Fogelberg; Rita Rover is a continuing director (2 yrs); and Richard Heeseler (1 yr).
The 2011 Long Island Chrysanthemum Society annual show took place at Hicks Nurseries in Westbury on the weekend of 22-23 October. Some fourteen exhibitors presented 115 judged entries.
King's Mums, now owned by Kim and Ray Gray and located in Oregon, is the place to find the many unusual varieties of chrysanthemums which are grown for show by LICS members. Rooted cuttings are shipped between March and June, and the 2012 catalog is now available. Their beautiful and informative website (including photos sent in by Long Island's own Rita Rover) is found at http://www.kingsmums.com//.
The Cornell/Long Island Horticultural Research & Extension Center is located in Riverhead Town. 126 different chrysanthemum cultivars were in bloom last fall. Learn more about the center at http://www.longislandhort.cornell.edu/.
Long-time chrysanthemum (and rhododendron) grower Richard Murcott has posted a page of beautiful chrysanthemum photos on his garden web site. See them at http://garden.murcott.com/mums/. From there, see the rest of his fascinating site.
Author Jeanne Grunert, who now resides in Virginia, is a daughter of the late Frank Rudmann, an active chrysanthemum grower and LICS member in the 1970's and 1980's who resided in Floral Park (He was in charge of staging for the 1990 show). Enjoy her blogs about her childhood memories and chrysanthemums at http://sevenoaks-jeanne.blogspot.com/2010/10/chrysanthemum-time.html (reminiscences) as well as
http://sevenoaks-jeanne.blogspot.com/2010/09/chrysanthemums-and-pumpkins.html (deer unfortunately love to dine on chrysanthemums!), and explore the rest of her interesting site.
LICS President Emeritus John Capobianco has made a DVD entitled "Making Chrysanthemum Bonsai." For more information on the DVD and John's horticultural enterprises, go to www.capobiancocreations.com.
LICS President Joel R. Simon has his own personal website. Learn more about him and the book he is writing about Weehawken, New Jersey.
Hicks Nurseries in Westury, Long Island, hosts our annual chrysanthemum show. Learn more about them at www.hicksnurseries.com. Their site includes an excellent page on growing hardy garden mums.
The Long Island Chrysanthemum Society Inc. is proud to be a chapter of the National Chrysanthemum Society, Inc. Visit them online at http://www.mums.org/.
The 56th Annual Show of the Long Island Chrysanthemum Society took place at Hicks Nurseries in Westbury NY on 16-17 October 2010. There were over 100 entries, includ-ing disbuds, sprays, and a spectacular cascade. Click on the sign to take a virtual tour of the show !
Joel R. Simon
THE MUM GROWERS OF JAPAN AND THEIR FRIENDS AND FAMI-LIES NEED YOUR HELP TO RECOVER FROM THE RECENT EARTHQUAKE AND TSUNAMI. CLICK HERE TO DONATE TO THE SALVATION ARMY'S RELIEF EFFORTS.
Master chrysanthemum grower and Past President of the New Jersey State Chrysanthemum Society Steve Avallone was the guest speaker at the meeting of the Long Island Chrysanthemum Society (LICS) on Sunday, 6 May at 2:00 PM. The meeting was held at Hicks Nurseries, 100 Jericho Turnpike, Westbury NY 11590. Another master grower, mum judge Doris Zurcher also was present and both Steve and Doris were glad to answer questions at the conclusion of Steve's talk.
Steve and Doris discussed many aspects of growing chrysanthemums. They both grow mums in pots, two gallon for Steve and three gallon for Doris. Steve emphasized that a grower should do what works best for him or her.
Steve Avallone has been an avid grower of mums for over thirty-five years. He has grown many blue ribbon mums (see above) and has been awarded many bronze certificates. He has held many positions in the New Jersey State Chrysanthemum Society, including President, Vice President, and Secretary, and has chaired many committees. Steve has given lectures and assisted many new mum growers. He is always available to assist fellow growers with their problems. He opens his Parsippany NJ garden each year for a spring garden party and a summer barbeque and mum talk. Steve has followed in his father's footsteps as a barber, and inherits his mother's love of flowers.
Doris Zurcher has been a grower of mums for almost twenty years. She is a national judge, and a director as well as the archivist of the National Chrysanthemum Society. She has earned many blue ribbons and awards over her two decades of growing mums. Doris gives lectures to garden clubs and mentors new growers.
Hicks Nurseries is on the south side of Jericho Turnpike between Glen Cove Road and Post Avenue, and easy to reach from Northern State Parkway, the Long Island Expressway, and Meadowbrook Parkway.
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Make cuttings from last year's plants, and order new ones from the Kings Mums 2012 catalog. If you have not already done so, request your copy or view it online. The "chrysanthemum," usually shortened to "mum" in the U.S., or "chrysanth" in the U.K. is a great flower for the home gardener.
Mums on Long Island generally bloom in September, October, and November, although by manipulation of the light they can flower any time of the year. In addition to the mums available from your local florist and even in front of the supermarket, there are some thirteen types of "exhibition" mums. These are cultivated in back yards by devoted amateur growers who begin in May with tiny plants called "cuttings" and end up with mums in a dazzling array of sizes, ranging from enormous flowers as much as ten inches in diameter to tiny blooms grown as bonsai. Mums may be white, purple, yellow, bronze, or even green. Every mum bloom is actually a complex structure consisting of a disc and rays, each petal a complete or partial flower.
Mum growers on Long Island have their own organization, the "Long Island Chrysanthemum Society" (LICS), affiliated with a "National Chrysanthemum Society." To share the fruits of their labor with the public, LICS holds a free annual show at Hicks Nurseries in Westbury. The 2012 show, which will be the society's 58th annual exhibition, takes place on Saturday, 20 October from Noon to 5:30 PM, and Sunday, 21 October from 11:00 AM to 3:45 PM.
You are now viewing the official website of the Long Island Chrysanthemum Society. To learn a little something about mum culture, read Joel R. Simon's essay, "Introducing the Chrysanthemum."
BEAUTIFUL CHRYSANTHEMUMS WERE ON DISPLAY LAST FALL AT THE NJ STATE, LICS AND NCS SHOWS AS WELL AS AT THE NY BOTANICAL GARDEN (BRONX) AND LONGWOOD GARDENS
The New York Botanical Garden in the Bronx, as part of its "Fall Flowers of Japan" exhibit, presented Kiku: The Art of Trained Japanese Chrysanthemums through Sunday, 30 October. LICS President Joel Simon had the pleasure of seeing this show on 10 October, and he will share some of his photos and impressions of the show on this site in the weeks to come.
The National Chrysanthemum Society presented its annual show last year at beautiful Longwood Gardens in Kennett Square PA, not far from Philadelphia and Wilmington DE, on Saturday, 29 October and Sunday, 30 October. Until 20 November, Longwood's "Chrysanthemum Festival," including a single chrysanthemum plant with over one thousand blooms, intrigued visitors. There is still much to see at Longwood Gardens and at the New York Botanical Gardens at any time of the year. Unfortunately, there is no public transportation to Longwood, but it is right off U.S. Route One and thus easily accessed by automobile.
Master Mum Grower Steve Avallone of central New Jersey spoke at the LICS meeting on Sunday, 6 May along with Doris Zurcher
THANK YOU STEVE AVALLONE & DORIS ZURCHER FOR A GREAT TALK ON 6 MAY!
"Redwing" grown
by Doris Zurcher
(photo by Joel R. Simon)
"Daybreak" grown
by Doris Zurcher
(photo by Joel R. Simon)
