Chrysanthemum: The Hidden Meaning of November’s Birth Flower
November can be a pretty damp and dreary month on the coast, but there’s one classic flower that really brightens up life this month—the always beautiful Chrysanthemum. If you were born in November, mums are the flower of your birth month. Besides being colourful and cheerful, they’re also thought to attract good luck, friendship, honesty, and happiness.
Hidden Meanings of the November Birth Flower
Chrysanthemums symbolize youth, loyalty, love, passion, friendship, and get-well-wishes in Chinese and Japanese cultures. Buddhism says that chrysanthemums emit Yang energy (active energy). It is even believed to prevent grey hair!
In China, chrysanthemums are commonly gifted to the elderly, symbolizing long life and good luck. They’re also symbols of happiness, joy, longevity, honour, and respect. Chrysanthemums are often thought of as an example of perfection since the flower petals are laid out so simply and cleanly.
Different colours of mums have different meanings:
- White symbolizes loyalty and honesty.
- Red means love and passion.
- Violet symbolizes get-well wishes if you’re sick.
- Yellow represents a broken heart or unrequited love.
Fun Facts About Chrysanthemums
Chrysanthemums are originally from China, and they’ve been talked about in Chinese literature since the 15th century BC. They were later introduced to Japan, where they also became popular and further cultivated by Buddhist monks. It’s the official flower of the Japanese emperor, appearing on the crest and seal. Japan even celebrates a chrysanthemum day every year, calling it the festival of happiness!
Chrysanthemums are one of the most popular flowers in the world, following closely behind roses. By 1630 over 500 different cultivars had been recorded in China. Now, we don’t even know how many there are, but the estimate is at least 20,000 different cultivars worldwide and 7000 in China alone.
Besides being a classic symbol of fall in North America, they’re also the traditional flower to give on Mothers Day. Chrysanthemums are also the official flower of the city of Chicago.
How to Care for Chrysanthemums
While they’re viewed as a symbol of autumn worldwide, florist chrysanthemums, though perennial, are conditioned for warmer climates than ours. Many of the florist varieties are only hardy above zone 7. But that doesn’t mean we can’t grow mums outdoors here! There are numerous hardy garden mums for zones 4-9 (with a little extra care required for the colder of these zones). Knowing what variety you have can help you choose the right location and protection for it, but even if you don’t, you can still help them survive with a little extra protection.
Most mums want as much sun as they can get as early in the day as possible, so choose a location in your yard that is sunniest in the morning. They don’t like having their feet wet, so make sure they have good drainage as well. Light regularly feeding through the growing season will help them achieve their best blooms for the fall. Ideally, you should plant them in spring, but fall is ok too, as long as you can get them in the ground at least six weeks before a killing frost.
In the first week of July, give your mums a haircut to encourage loads of lush blooms for the fall. Simply prune all the stems back by an inch or two, removing any current flower buds; this will cause the plant to produce even more buds for the fall. When fall arrives, and you’re cutting back other perennials, leave the foliage on your chrysanthemums alone; it helps insulate the roots through the winter. It’s also a good idea to give your chrysanthemums a thick blanket of mulch over the roots to help protect them through the winter.
If you haven’t picked up this amazing November birth flower yet, stop by Mother Nature and take a peek at all the lush blooms that are here right now.