At the Bronx's New York Botanical Garden, Kiku Shows Off Japanese Chrysanthemums Through Nov. 15

The New York Botanical Garden in the Bronx is showing Kiku: Spotlight on Tradition, a display of Japanese chrysanthemums in the Nolen Greenhouses. It runs October 31 through November 15, 2026, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., so only a few days remain.

The plants on view have been trained for about 11 months. The centerpiece is ozukuri, or "thousand bloom," a cultivation feat that produces hundreds of flowers from a single stem. Other plants are woven onto bamboo frames to suggest mountains and cascading waterfalls, forms refined over centuries in Japan. Horticulturists at the Garden have also made contemporary pieces, including a whimsical parasol, and warm-toned fall flowers round out the display.

Every kiku is grown at NYBG's own Nolen Greenhouses for Living Collections. Staff trim away extra flowering stems through the year so each plant's energy goes into selected blooms, then shape them into their final forms.

The Kiku Highlight Weekend on November 7 and 8 added live performances by Taiko Masala Dojo, a Brooklyn-based group playing Suwa-style taiko under master drummer Hiro Kurashima, plus a sumi-e ink painting workshop led by Kohfu Furukawa of the NYC Japanese cultural organization RESOBOX, and behind-the-scenes tours of the Sullivan Bourke Display House.

Kiku is included with the All-Garden Pass, $35 for adults. The Garden is at 2900 Southern Blvd in the Bronx. Mitsubishi Corporation Americas is the presenting sponsor.