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Answer Man,
This may not be the most burning question you've ever received, but I've been so curious about how the mums in the median over the Fourth Street Southeast bridge crossing Bear Creek near the Holiday station have stayed so brilliantly colored.
Despite covering them on the nights with frost and freeze we had a couple weeks back, mine have bit the dust. What is the city's trick?
— Mesmerized by mums
Mesmerized,
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Mum is never the word here, so I asked one of my green-thumbed minions to inquire.
It seems the favored fall flowers are simply doing well throughout the downtown due to daily care by Rochester Parks and Recreation staff. Mike Nigbur, the city’s parks and forestry division head, said they are watered daily, but little else is done.
Other experts agree that mums like their daily drink, but you need to be careful not to oversaturate them.
Nigbur said where the mums are planted also likely plays a key role in helping them thrive.
While a clay or plastic pot on a doorstep might seem safer than a bridge where cars cruise by on a regular basis, the bridge mums are planted in soil contained in the median. That means the surrounding cold air is less likely to penetrate to their roots.
In other words, in addition to covering your mums, maybe you should have buried them on those cold nights.
Send questions to Answer Man at answerman@postbulletin.com .
