# 5,000 mums, trained for over a year

> Longwood Gardens opens its Chrysanthemum Festival Oct. 16 with spirals, clouds and flowers stretched 10 feet long.
- Title: 5,000 mums, trained for over a year · PhillyVoice | Shortify
- Summary: Longwood Gardens opens its Chrysanthemum Festival Oct. 16 with spirals, clouds and flowers stretched 10 feet long. The Chrysanthemum Festival runs Oct. 16 to…
- Keywords: longwood gardens, chrysanthemums, fall festivals, philadelphia, gardening, news, local, 000, mums, trained, year, PhillyVoice
- Source: PhillyVoice — https://phillyvoice.com/longwood-gardens-chrysanthemum-festival-2026-mums
- Published: 2026-09-10T19:54:58.371+00:00
- Read time: 1 min
- Topics: longwood gardens, chrysanthemums, fall festivals, philadelphia, gardening, news, local
## Mums, but 10 feet long
Some chrysanthemums at Longwood this fall stretch as long as 10 feet. Others are trained into spirals, cascading clouds and a new double arch.
## Opens Oct. 16
More than 5,000 chrysanthemum plants fill Longwood's East and Main conservatories starting Friday, Oct. 16.
## A year of training
Longwood horticulturists shape many of the plants into sculptural forms by hand. The process can take more than a year per display.

> a process that can take more than a year
## The new double arch
This year adds a double chrysanthemum arch. Yellow, orange, lavender and maroon blooms run through the conservatories in spirals and clouds.
## Stones made of flowers
A new Exhibition Hall display draws on suiseki, the Japanese practice of appreciating stones that look like mountains, islands and waterfalls.
## A living curtain
Longwood translated those suiseki shapes into chrysanthemum forms up to 10 feet long, set against a backdrop made entirely of living mums.
## Bonsai in the workshop
Longwood students and staff show chrysanthemums grown and shaped as bonsai in the Bonsai Workshop.
## Meet Us at the Mums
On Saturday, Oct. 24, from 1 to 3 p.m., Longwood's science team answers questions across the conservatories. Included with admission, but register ahead.
## Runs through Nov. 15
The festival is part of Longwood's Autumn's Colors season at the Kennett Square gardens, 1001 Longwood Rd., closing Nov. 15.
## Key takeaway

The Chrysanthemum Festival runs Oct. 16 to Nov. 15 at Longwood Gardens in Kennett Square, and the shapes you see took horticulturists more than a year to grow.