Gardner Museum horticulturists practice the ancient Japanese pruning technique, ogiku, to create single stem Chrysanthemums. The process begins in May from rooted cuttings. With months of prudent pinching and disbudding throughout the growing season, the ogiku technique will produce one colossal blossom atop a single stem over four feet tall. The team of growers at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum is one of the few in the United States trained in the distinctive style of ogiku.