The University's mum breeding program is one of the oldest public sector breeding programs in the world and the only one in North America. Trend-setting breeding endeavors, coupled with its germplasm base and genetic resources, continue to bring a wide range of colors and shapes of hardy mums to northern gardens.

Beginning in the 1920s, U of M researchers were selecting and breeding mums for early flowering; there were no garden mums that bloomed before killing frosts in Minnesota.

The cushion habit of mums, a genetic discovery of Experiment Station mum breeders, was the basis for the U of M's first plant patent, in 1977 for 'Minngopher.' Plants are hemispherical, with flowers almost completely covering the outside surfaces of each plant. Previous mums, like most other flowers, bloomed only at the top of long stems (upright habit). Within a decade, the cushion type became the dominant chrysanthemum plant habit worldwide.

In 1990, breeders inspecting field plantings found seedlings of unprecedented size that led to the "My Favorite" (TM) series. The shrub/cushion plants produce several thousand flowers and are sold worldwide.

The University's floral research has earned international respect and collaboration. U of M scientists are collecting wild mum species in western China, near Tibet, to add to the germplasm collection. And, scientists from Asian countries are in Minnesota learning advanced breeding techniques to bring back to the continent where many of our exotics originated.

Only at the U

Watch for new colors in shrub-sized cushion mums, including pumpkin, orange, lavender, and purple. Breeders are also testing new spreading or "wave" types, in varied colors with daisy or double blossoms.