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Poinsettias and Chrysanthemums at Philadelphia Flower Shows

By Janet Evans, PHS McLean Library Associate Director

In 1828, Joel Roberts Poinsett, the first United States ambassador to Mexico, sent cuttings from Mexico to his home in South Carolina, where he began propagating and sharing the plant with others.

In 1829 the poinsettia was exhibited at PHS’s first flower show, held on June 6. The exhibitor was Col. Robert Carr, married to Ann Bartram Carr, the granddaughter of John Bartram. Carr, who was one of PHS’s original 80 founding members, received seeds and plants of “a new Euphorbia with bright scarlet bracteas or floral leaves” from Poinsett. Thus, the poinsettia was introduced to the public at PHS’s first public flower show, and introduced into cultivation and commercial trade by Bartram’s Garden. Over the years, many varieties of poinsettia have appeared at past shows.

Chrysanthemums have been cultivated in Asia, beginning at least as early as the 5^th century BC in China, and in Japan beginning in 8^th Century AD.

While it was known to make its way to Western Europe in the late 17^th Century, the chrysanthemum didn’t spark interest until the end of the 18^th century with the importation to Europe of Chrysanthemum morifolium, a large-flower chrysanthemum from China.It likely appeared in the United States a few years later.

Chrysanthemums were exhibited as early as 1828 in a PHS meeting. More notably, at PHS’s 1841 annual meeting, Robert Kilvington exhibited the first known hybrid cultivar grown in the United States.  At this time, chrysanthemums were grown as garden flowers and would later gain popularity as greenhouse plants, grown to admire in the autumn when little else was in bloom.  

Chrysanthemums shows were immensely popular in the 1880s through the 1920s, with multiday shows held throughout the fall in major cities in the United States and Canada. The pubic was fascinated with the “wonderfully bizarre” Japanese forms introduced at this time. Florists from New York and Philadelphia vied with each other to produce the most dramatic, crowd-pleasing blooms. In the 1880s and 90s, renowned Philadelphia grower William K. Harris along with plant importer and show exhibitor Hosea Waterer and nurseryman Robert Craig developed many varieties that were exhibited and won prizes at PHS’s Chrysanthemum Shows.

The PHS Philadelphia Flower Show continues to present new plants to an eager public. Look for the new and unusual at the 2019 Show by visiting the exhibits at the Hort Couture, Proven Winners, and Star Roses exhibits in the Gardener’s Hub. Learn more about these plants.

References

1828 Pennsylvania Horticultural Society Minutes for November 1828. Minute Book, 1827-1837, ARC 2010.03 Box/vol 1:15

1841.  The Magazine of horticulture, botany, and all useful discoveries and improvements in rural affairs. V. 8 1842: 66-67 Seedling Chrysanthemums.

1937. Emsweller,Philip Brierley,  et. al. Improvement of Flowers by Breeding. pp. 935-936. USDA Yearbook of Agriculture.

2018. Taylor, Judith M. An Abundance of Flowers: More Great Flower Breeders of the Past.