September 10, 2026
Provided Courtesy/Longwood Gardens
Longwood Gardens’ Thousand Bloom Chrysanthemum has 1,355 white flowers growing from a single stem. The 12-foot-wide plant took 18 months to grow and is now on display during the Chrysanthemum Festival.
A single chrysanthemum plant at Longwood Gardens has 1,355 white flowers growing from one stem. Measuring 12 feet wide and 8 feet tall, it is now on display during the Kennett Square gardens’ Chrysanthemum Festival, which runs through Nov. 15 and is included with garden admission.
Producing that many blooms on one plant requires repeated pinching and tying as it grows. Longwood staff spent more than 1,000 hours shaping the Thousand Bloom Chrysanthemum over 18 months, arranging its flowers into a rounded dome.
Longwood uses a training method called Ozukuri, which has roots in centuries-old Japanese and Chinese horticulture. The gardens describe the finished plant as the largest chrysanthemum outside Asia.
It is among more than 5,000 chrysanthemum plants filling Longwood’s East and Main conservatories this fall. Throughout the displays, mums take the shape of spirals, cascading clouds and a new double arch that people can walk beneath.
In the Exhibition Hall, some chrysanthemum forms stretch up to 10 feet long. The arrangements draw inspiration from suiseki, a Japanese tradition of appreciating naturally formed stones that resemble mountains, islands and other landscapes. A curtain of chrysanthemums and pagoda-shaped plants are also part of the display.
Longwood Gardens trains mums into elaborate forms for its annual Chrysanthemum Festival. More than 5,000 plants will fill the conservatories when this year's display opens Oct. 16.
Hank Davis/For Longwood Gardens
Smaller examples of the horticulturists’ work can be found in the Bonsai Workshop and Peirce-du Pont House Conservatory, where chrysanthemums have been trained as bonsai. That display runs through Nov. 13.
People curious about how the plants are grown can attend “Meet Us at the Mums” on Saturday, Oct. 24, from 1-3 p.m. Longwood’s science team will answer questions throughout the conservatories about the techniques and research behind the festival. The program is included with garden admission, but advance registration is required.
People planning an October trip can also catch illuminated fountain performances during the weekends of Oct. 16-18 and Oct. 23-25, the last scheduled for the season. The Oct. 23 “Symphony of Horror” program pairs Nosferatu film projections with live organ accompaniment by Longwood principal organist Peter Richard Conte. The fountain performances are included with garden admission.
Timed admission tickets are required for the Chrysanthemum Festival. Details and tickets are available on Longwood’s website.
Dates: Oct. 16-Nov. 15
Time: During regular garden hours; closed Tuesdays
Location: Longwood Gardens
1001 Longwood Road
Kennett Square, PA 19348
Admission: Included with garden admission; timed tickets required
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(This article was updated on Oct. 16 with details about Longwood’s Thousand Bloom Chrysanthemum and the season’s final illuminated fountain performances.)
