Football Mum 'Homecoming' is a fully incurved garden chrysanthemum whose large, globe-shaped heads define the football mum type. It blooms in fall when most perennials have finished, making it a dependable anchor for late-season color. The cultivar is reliably perennial in zones 5–9 when given good drainage and some winter protection in the colder end of its range.
A consistent pinching program through late spring and early summer keeps growth compact and encourages branching. Stop all pinching by mid-July to allow buds to form for fall. Removing side buds from each main stem in late summer directs energy into a single large head per stem. Clumps that go more than two or three years without division become woody at the center and bloom poorly; divide in spring as growth resumes.
Chrysanthemum × morifolium is the botanical source of chrysanthemum tea, widely consumed across East Asia and documented in traditional Chinese pharmacopeia for antipyretic and anti-inflammatory applications.
Powdery mildew
White or grey powdery coating on leaves - usually starting on older growth in humid conditions or when nights cool.
Improve air circulation by thinning plants. Apply neem oil or potassium bicarbonate spray at first sign. Avoid overhead watering.
Botrytis (grey mould)
Grey fuzzy mould on petals and stems, worst in cool wet conditions.
Remove affected parts immediately. Improve air circulation. Avoid overhead watering. Apply copper fungicide if severe.
Chrysanthemum White Rust
Pale yellow to cream-colored spots on upper leaf surfaces with corresponding white to pinkish-white pustules (spore masses) on undersides. Severely affected leaves yellow, distort, and may drop. Distinguished from common rust by the white or cream color of the pustules rather than orange-brown.
Remove and bag all affected plant material immediately; do not compost. Apply a registered fungicide (myclobutanil, tebuconazole, or chlorothalonil) at first sign of infection and repeat on a 7–14 day schedule. Avoid overhead irrigation. This pathogen (Puccinia horiana) is a quarantine pest in many regions; check local reporting requirements before disposal.
Foliar Nematode (Chrysanthemum)
Angular brown to bronze patches bounded by leaf veins, beginning on lower leaves and moving upward as the season progresses. Affected leaves dry out and cling to the stem rather than dropping cleanly.
Remove and destroy all infested foliage. Avoid overhead irrigation; nematodes (Aphelenchoides ritzemabosi) spread through water films on leaf surfaces. Do not propagate from affected stock. No effective in-garden chemical treatment; prevention through clean planting material, strict sanitation, and dry foliage management is the primary strategy.
Aster Yellows
Deformed, greenish flowers, stunted growth, and yellowed foliage. Flower centers may produce tufts of leafy growth instead of normal petals.
No cure. Remove and destroy infected plants immediately to stop spread. Control leafhoppers, which transmit the disease, and remove nearby weed hosts.
Verticillium Wilt
Lower leaves yellow and wilt, often on one side of the plant, with brown streaking in the stem and crown tissue when cut open. Plants are stunted and decline over the season.
Remove and destroy affected plants. Avoid planting in soil that has grown infected tomatoes, peppers, or other susceptible crops. Rotate beds and improve drainage; there is no cure once a plant is infected.
Septoria Leaf Spot
Small tan to brown spots with dark borders on leaves, often with tiny black specks at the center. Spots merge and lower leaves yellow and die.
Remove infected leaves and avoid overhead watering. Space plants for airflow and rotate planting location each year. Apply a copper-based fungicide if spread continues.
Fusarium wilt
Sudden wilting, brown streaks in stems, yellowing leaves. Affects sweet basil varieties most.
No cure. Remove and destroy plants. Do not replant in the same spot for 3+ years. Choose resistant varieties.