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Flower Display Page: Chrysanthemum.

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Family description Chrysanthemum.

Chrysanthemums are a diverse group of plants that have been bred and hybridized for centuries. The focus of this web site is on the garden varieties, but you should be aware of the greenhouse or show specimens as well. These latter take a lot of looking after and I will leave these for the specialists. Most garden Chrysanthemums start out as a dwarf pot plant for the house, that end up being evicted to the garden after flowering has finished. It comes as some surprise that the lovely little flower that was 10-12cm high in its pot, streaks up nearly a metre tall the following year. The reason for this is that the pot plants are chemically treated to keep them dwarf for the florist trade, but by the following year the chemical has been used up and the plant grows normally. Garden Chrysanthemums come in many colours, but the hardy plants tend to be the daisy type, the more exotic varieties being tender and difficult to keep in normal garden conditions. Nevertheless, they are a reliable bloomer and always flower at the end of the summer when most other plants have given up. Name change. Recently the powers to be with nothing useful to do ordered that the name Chrysanthemum was not silly enough and must be changed to Dendranthema. Naturally, the whole World had a good laugh and told them to get lost so the academics have now graciously ordered that the name be changed back to Chrysanthemum.

General care.

The biggest decision for the gardener is whether to pinch out the side shoots to produce one big fat flower on each stem, or leave them to their own devices when they will produce many more, but smaller blooms. Once flowering is finished, cut the plants down to ground level. Ideally, the crowns should be dug up and stored over winter but if the plants are left in situ and mulched with compost or manure, they will still reward you with flowers for many years. Early in the growing cycle, provide some support to keep the flower stems nice and straight.