The chrysanthemum’s best asset may well have contributed to its precipitous fall from favor. In flower years, the spindly blooms seem to last forever, from the single stems cheering roadside diners for months at a time to the potted ones signaling fall on stoops from September to Christmas. That longevity fueled a certain ubiquity, and before too long mums had moved well beyond anyone’s idea of “cool.”
That is, until Tin Can Studios’ Ingrid Carozzi, a florist on the front lines of sustainability in flower arranging, took another look.
“Chrysanthemums were not being used in an artful way,” says the Brooklyn-based florist and author of a the book Flowers by Design: Creating Arrangements for Your Space. “Today’s mums have bit of a jagged little edge that makes everything else around them seem a little edgier,” says Carozzi. “The locally farmed species are spindly and grow in the most alluring of colors.”
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Carozzi is betting that chrysanthemums are on track to make a comeback that will rival the Great Carnation Revival of 2016. “I’m using mums everywhere right now, including in a recent installation for deGournay.”
Before you head to the market, take note of Carozzi’s three tips for the Epic Chrysanthemum Comeback of ‘22.
Avoid the grocery store look by avoiding the grocery store.
“I prefer to purchase more delicate varieties from local farmers. The colors they have really attract me, especially the two-tone varieties, which help ‘connect the dots’ amongst other flowers in an arrangement,” says Carozzi.
“Erin Benzakein the founder of Floret Flowers has been instrumental in promoting and selling interesting heirloom varieties,” she adds.
Update your way of thinking: Perfection is outdated.
“When I’m pulling mums for arrangements, I look for colorful ones in tones of peach, blush, or deep red with interesting shapes,” says Carozzi, “I want to be able to see a lot of movement in the petals. This makes them feel more natural, less perfect.”
To achieve the perfectly-imperfect look, remove all the foliage. “It looks raggedy on a mum,” says the florist who also enhances the flower by gently pushing the petals open. “If one petal starts to fall, you’ll lose them all,” she warns.
Carozzi notes she always soaks her stems in water before arranging them: “Hydrated flowers have more endurance!”
Give them room to stand out.
“Ten to 20 stems of just chrysanthemums will feel like a supermarket bouquet,” says Carozzi about an en-masse approach. Instead, she recommends trying 1 to 3 stems in a bud vase or mixed in with other flowers. “Chrysanthemums need room to breathe,” she adds.
When Carozzi does mix mums with other flowers, she favors a looser arrangement using “similarly serious blooms like dahlias and ranunculus or garden roses and tulips.”
