raining chrysanthemums requires a lot of work—and

patience, and stamina. And so from January to November,

Matt Mattus, who works for Hasbro’s Invention Lab, a

high-concept development group, can be found nurturing

his. First in the greenhouse, then later outside in the gar-

den, he carefully waters, fertilizes, pinches, and stakes.

Not to be confused with the ubiquitous “mums” found at

supermarkets and nurseries in fall, his unusual varieties,

some of which feature giant, fluffy flower heads that can reach more than

eight inches in diameter and spindly blooms that explode like fireworks,

hark back to another time.

Mattus, who has been gardening since he was a small child, began

raising chrysanthemums more than a decade ago, drawn in by their rich

history (they are one of the oldest container-grown plants for ornamental

use, dating to at least the 15th century B.C.) and the incredible challenge

of caring for them. To educate himself, he sought out books from the 19th

and 20th centuries—the last time the plants were grown with frequency

by large staffs at grand estates—and consulted with growers and garden

societies. Then he began experimenting. “I become part anthropologist,

part historian, part designer, part horticulturalist,” he says.

Every year in January, he roots cuttings of varieties he wants to grow.

A few months later, he’ll begin the long training process, pinching off

extra growth. In late May, he repots the specimens into larger containers,

guiding the plants through the summer months outside, depending on

the form he’s trying to achieve, by continuing to remove new shoots,

staking with bamboo, watering, and fertilizing with a water-soluble

organic variety. By September, flower buds are starting to form, and that’s

when he clips off any extras as well as side shoots, to focus the plants’

energy. He moves everything inside by the first frost and continues

tweaking until blossoms are ready for display around mid-November.

Indeed, one of the joys of growing chrysanthemums is that they bloom

just as the rest of garden is winding down.

In Japan during the 1700s, the poet Buson wrote (as translated by Robert

Hass), “Chrysanthemum growers—/you are the slaves/of chrysanthe-

mums!” That still holds true, but to Mattus, toiling to preserve an endan-

gered art is well worth the effort. “Just when I think that I can’t do it

again, I think of their scents, their colors, their beauty—and I start the

process all over again,” he laughs. “Once you have them, you can’t stop.”

T

under the

GLASS

Chrysanthemums are semi-
hardy, so they need protection
from freezing temperatures.
Since Matt Mattus (above,
near right) lives in Zone 5, where
temperatures can dip as low
as negative 15 degrees,
his plants begin and end the
growing process in a green-
house. When the flowers are
at their peak in mid-November,
Mattus invites friends and
co-workers over to celebrate
the fantastical blossoms,
such as the pale-yellow ‘Prim-
rose Tennis’ (far right), an
incurve variety trained to pro-
duce a fan of five large flow-
ers. “It’s a fun excuse to have
a party,” he says.