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 5 March 2021. Questions and comments? info@longislandmums.org
The 2019-2020 officers of the Long Island Chrysanthemum Society are: President, Joel R. Simon; Vice President, Richard Murcott; Treasurer, John Capobianco; Recording/Cor-responding Secretary, Renu Sharma; Membership Secretary, Joan Corbisiero; Directors Ann Jacobson (3 years), Rita Rover (2 years), and Bob Tobias (1 years). The annual election of officers took place on 27 April 2019. Due to "the virus" we voted online to continue the 2019 board through 2020.
Our friends at CLEMSON UNIVERSITY in South Carolina have created an excellent web page about mum diseases and insect pests. We hope you never have these problems, but read it for knowledge, prevention, and hopefully cure.
LICS had a booth at the May 2018 SUNY Farmingdale Plant Sale and the Centerport Garden Club Plant Sale where we sold some 250 beautiful mums from California. It was a great success thanks to the incredible hard work by our dedicated members, as well as Sharon Peterson and Jeff MacDonald et. al. in California, and the help of the Long Island Dahlia Society and the Long Island Daylily Society. In 2019 we participated in the Long Island Horticultural Society plant sale at Planting Fields Arboretum and the Long Island Fair at Old Bethpage.
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.
LICS and NCS President Emeritus John Capobianco has made a DVD entitled "Making Chrysanthemum Bonsai." For more information on the DVD and John's horticultural enterprises, including the sale of mum cuttings, 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.
Starkie Brothers Garden Center in Farmingdale, Long Island, will host our 2019 chrysanthemum show. Learn more about them at www.starkiebrosgardencenter.com
The Long Island Chrysanthemum is a chapter of the National Chrysanthemum Society, Inc. Visit them online at http://www.mums.org/. The NCS web site now has a series of excellent how-to videos.
NHK (Japanese Television) has produced a brilliant series of programs on Japanese Culture. The one on chrysanthemum culture in Japan should not be missed. If you google "Japanology Chrysanthemums" you should be able to find it on U-Tube.
What does a chry-santhemum show look like? Click on the sign to the right and look at a detailed description of our 2010 show.
Joel R. Simon
Read Richard Murcott's informative essay,
Chrysanthemums come in thirteen bloom types and a wide variety of colors. The flowers actually consist of masses of individual "florets." Disc florets form the center of the bloom, and ray florets extend outward from the center. In "incurves," the traditional "football" mums, the ray florets predominate and completely cover the disc. "Anemones," on the other hand, have large discs and just a fringe of rays. Come to our show and see them all.
Although mums bloom in the fall, you begin with rooted cuttings in the spring, and nurture them through the hot summer months. The winter is the time to plan your garden and learn all you can about the growing process.
There are many written and on-line sources of information about chrysanthemums. The first thing you should do is look at the King's Mums 2021 Catalog. Another source is an excellent little book entitled Mum's the Word: Secrets to Growing Chrysanthemums by Pat Stockett Johnston, which can be purchased from King's Mums. The National Chrysanthemum Society has several handbooks for sale, including one for beginners (which is sent free to first-year members), and membership in LICS-NCS includes a quarterly journal, appropriately entitled The Chrysanthemum. Many fine books have been published about chrysanthemum culture, and we refer you to the bibliography on this site.
There are excellent online sources as well. One of the best is Richard Murcott's essay (Dick is LICS Vice President and master mum grower). Welsh nurseryman and master mum grower Ivor Mace (who we are honored to count as a member of LICS) and Paul Barlow have published Chrysan-themums - The Ultimate eBook. The Wikipedia entry on chrysanthemums is quite informative, and Paul Barlow's Chrysanthemums in Aberdeen (Scotland) is another master source. Of course, if you "Google" "chrysanthemum" you will find much more of varying quality.
Did you know that John Steinbeck wrote a short story about growing chrysanthemums? "The Chrysanthemums" is part of his collection The Long Valley, published by Viking Press in 1938.
LEARN ABOUT CHRYSANTHEMUMS
In 2019, we moved into our new home, Starkie Bros. Garden Center, 721 Main Street, Farmingdale NY. The show had 130 entries, more than double our 2018 show. A highlight of the 2019 show was several excellent chrysanthemum bonsai by John Capobianco and his "pupil," Frank Kondrich.
Starkie Bros. Garden Center, always worth a visit, has a GREAT WEBSITE.
Follow this link to a BIBLIOGRAPHY of classic books on chrysanthemum growing.
DUE TO "THE VIRUS"
THERE WAS NO LICS SHOW IN 2020, BUT
WE HOPE TO SEE YOU AT OUR 2021 SHOW!
THE CULTIVAR IS "QUON YON HUNG." IT EARNED A BLUE RIBBON AT OUR 2014 SHOW.
IT WAS GROWN BY WALTER DWORKIN. WE LOOK FORWARD TO MORE
BEAUTIFUL MUMS GROWN BY WALTER IN OUR 2021 SHOW!
