Color your mum flowers yourself, you’ll be glad you did!
By now most of you know that mum flowers come in a variety of colors, sizes & even type/style. Before I discuss coloring your flowers, Let’s look at the 2 basic types/styles that your typical white mum flower is available in.
The first is the standard flower that has been available for many years. This flower has flatter, wider petals with a rounded tip. The second was introduced in more recent years and has narrower, pointed tip petals. It is viewed by many as a more “realistic” mum that better represents the real chrysanthemum flower. This flower is often referred to by vendors as “pointed” petal mums or “fresh look” mums. It is this “realistic” mum flower that is my preferred flower. The reason? It just looks better and, as stated before, more like the real thing. This flower is perky & has a fuller, fresh appearance. Where the older wide petal flower tends to look floppy and flat. (just my opinion)
Now, the reason I have explained the differences in these 2 types of flowers is a major reason why I started coloring my flowers myself. Though you can buy flowers in a variety of colors, they will ALL be the flat, wide petal flowers. The realistic mum flower that I prefer is only available in white. So, in order to have the colored flowers that I wanted in that style, I had to color them myself.
This realistic looking flower comes in most all sizes from 3” to 9.5”. That’s the next good thing about coloring them myself. I can have any color flower in any size I want. Many of your commercial colored flower are only available in a few sizes.
I just alluded to another benefit that will excite you. ANY COLOR! And I mean any color OR combination of colors. Commercial colored flowers, as you know, are only available in a solid color or a 2-color which is a color combined with white. Your options are endless when you color them yourself. So those school colors that you can’t find or those color combinations that don’t exist.........now at your finger tips.
Now that I’ve explained why I color my own flowers, I’ll give you the highlights on how & what I use. I use Design Master Colortool spray paint. This is a floral spray paint for use in adding color to fresh flowers. It is available in a huge variety of colors. It dries fast & isn’t stiff or sticky. Here are some of the colors I use for School colors but believe me, this stuff comes in a range of exotic & wonderful colors, feel free to be creative.
Design Master Name = School Color
Blue Bright = Royal blue
Navy Blue = Navy blue (dark)
Deep Blue = Navy blue (slightly lighter)
Aspen Yellow = golden yellow
grey flannel = dark/platinum grey
Purple = purple
Brilliant Silver = metallic silver
Hunter Green = I use for Emerald
These are only a few examples and those that I have used myself.
You may need to experiment with your own colors.
Design Master costs about $7 per 12 oz can. You can find it and many craft stores and floral supply vendors. A single can will cover about 2-3, 6.5” flowers colored solid. So it may be considered pricey by some. But the results are wonderful and the range it will offer you is great.
The How: Simply separate all the layers of your flower. Spray both sides of each layer with the desired color, concentrating on good coverage on the tip ends (about 1/2-1”). Don’t worry about coloring the center. When the flower is put back together, only the end/tips of the petals are visible. Here is a tip: I stack all the separated layers in a single pile and paint the one on top. Again, concentrating on good color coverage of the ends. With the layers stacked on top of each other while spraying, the overspray goes on the layers below so I waste less paint.
Of Course, always spray paint in a well ventilated area. Though Design Master will wash off your hands easily, I recommend wearing gloves.
To recap, the benefits of coloring your mums yourself are these: 1) the only way to get the realistic looking style of flower in a color other than white is to color it yourself. 2) You can create any color flower or any combination of colors on a flower in any size you want. You are not limited by size, style or color availability.
Thanks for stopping by,
Heather McCoy
Boerne Mums
www.Boernemums.com
