ROUND ROCK, Texas (KXAN) — Hanging inside a Round Rock Independent School District high school is a 28-foot-long mum, which took the equivalent of nearly two days to finish, the school district said on social media.

  • McNeil High School with Round Rock ISD students made an ‘enormous mum’ | Courtesy Round Rock ISD
  • McNeil High School with Round Rock ISD students made an ‘enormous mum’ | Courtesy Round Rock ISD

The ‘enormous mum’ took the floral design classes in McNeil High School’s Ag program close to 40 hours to finish, the district said.

According to RRISD, the top of the mum is bigger than the bed of a pickup truck.

Homecoming mums as a Texas custom

Traditional homecoming mums are made with faux chrysanthemums decorated with glitter, ribbons and trinkets.

While its origins aren’t officially confirmed, many trace the decorative piece back to Missouri, where the wearing of homecoming mums became a tradition in the early 1900s. Those early mums were made using real chrysanthemums, according to reporting from Texas Highways.

Tricia Wise, owner of Mums The Word NB, told KXAN she has been creating mums each homecoming season for seven years. She said those early mums began as a token of affection in Missouri before becoming popularized in Texas in the 1930s.