No this isn’t some heavy weight boxing fight over on pay-per-view. This is a garden blog after all! This is a comparison between two very similar fall flowering perennials that really are heavy weight garden stand outs! This battle is between ‘Sheffield Pink’ and ‘Clara Curtis’ – the pink mums!
In this corner we have ‘Clara Curtis’ sporting pink petals and yellow centers.
Her blooms rise on long stems high above her 4′ wide mounding frame.
And in this corner her opponent, ‘Sheffield Pink’ is armed with tightly formed pink petals with yellow centers.
‘Sheffield Pink’ stands at 2 feet tall by 3 feet wide with clusters of long stemmed flowers tightly packed together.
What’s the difference? Not much really! At first glance you would think they appear the same but look a little closer. ‘Clara Curtis’ has petals that have a little more space in between where the ‘Sheffield Pink’ flower petals are packed close together. ‘Sheffield Pink’ appears to have more abundant flowering than ‘Clara Curtis’ but both have flowered significantly. Neither plant receives supplemental watering and both perform very well with neglect in a sunny location. Those kind of plants are worth their weight!
Which one is better? Take your pick! Both are great additions to any garden that has the space. These mums spread very quickly and by the third year you will have quite a specimen! Mums can be propagated very easily with a cutting taken anytime during the growing season. I took stem tip cuttings of several ‘Clara Curtis’ mums over the summer which are now flowering in 4 inch pots. They will also divide well so if you only want one or two extra plants give division a try.
Clara disappeared from my garden, but, while here she seemed a bit pinker then the Sheffie. I see buds on the Sheffield and hope for blooms soon. Both are very fine garden plants. gail
Their both pretty. I don't have either contender and need to rectify this soon Dave. 🙂
You're right Dave, "Both are great additions to any garden," but I think I prefer the super gorgeous 'Sheffield Pink.' And do you have to do any extra mulching of your mums for winter protection? It's recommended here.
I have the sheffies but I read in Fine Gardening I think it was that Clara lasted longer. Not sure but I've been looking for Clara. I can't tell the difference.
Gail and Tina,
I have a few extra Clara's if you're interested. It's just a matter of getting one to you!
Racquel,
I like them both so I think which ever one you plant you'll be happy!
TC,
No extra mulching needed here. The winter lows may approach 0 F once or twice each winter but usually doesn't get much worse than that here. Most of the time the low is much higher. I try to leave the dead foliage on all my perennials for extra protection though.
I have the Sheffie from my Mom's old gardens….I call them Mom's Mums…
I had Sheffields in my garden in Virginia (before the hurricane) and I remembered that it was fragrant. Ones I saw more recently were not fragrant…? Are yours? Is Clara? Either is lovely.
I rather like both. I have a dark pink {kinda on the lavender side} that was in bloom when I purchased it this Spring. Just named pink mum. It does seem to have more petals than either of yours. It does have a yellow center but has a few petals coming out from the center. The petals are more whitish from center out for a small distance. Sure wish I knew it's real name. It is pretty.