It’s high time for gardeners who still think of chrysanthemums as fall flowers to become acquainted with the newer varieties, which extend the season from as early as July until killing frosts.
The early English chrysanthemums will bloom early enough not to be damaged by fall rains and wind. They bring to your garden the large exhibition-type blooms associated with greenhouse culture.
Cascade chrysanthemums and Korean hybrids are other kinds that gardeners should grow more widely in this country.
The early English chrysanthemum is a strain that was developed and improved in England in recent years. It is fast becoming popular with gardeners who like to develop a single bloom to a stem and thus have a large exhibition type of flower.
This same ‘mum’ is also popular with those who wish to grow their plants in sprays, with flowers of smaller sizes, because they come in a wide range of types and colors.
The Canadian growers list this group as early garden chrysanthemums. Some of these begin to bloom as early as August and will continue until frost.
A few of the many early English chrysanthemums which may be grown successfully as exhibition flowers are:
- Alabaster, a white semi-incurved bloom 5” inches across, which flowers in August;
- Challenger, bright bronze-red with extra large full bloom 6” inches across and flowering in August and September;
- Mr. E. Crosley, deep mahogany on the inside of broad petals, with a gold reverse, 7” inches across and of the exhibition incurved type, flowering in August and September;
- Zenith, a fine large exhibition variety. Purple-maroon, one of the best; and Daily Express, terra-cotta chestnut large exhibition flowers, a real beauty.
Korean Chrysanthemums
There is another member of the very large chrysanthemum family, which begins to bloom at a time when your garden has that tired look when your perennials are faded and your annuals are past their prime.
You are missing something if you do not know these hardy and very attractive, colorful flowers. They are the hybrid Korean chrysanthemums.
For several years I watched, with great interest and enthusiasm, the work of the late Alex Cumming, Jr., who gave us many new varieties of this hardy, rugged chrysanthemum.
You will find that these range from single or daisy-like varieties, such as:
- Diana, a soft rose pink, mingled with salmon
- Ceres, a combination of old gold and soft copper, and the bronze autumn tones
- Daphne, a lilac rose; the more recent creation, summer-time, a brilliant yellow single which begins to bloom in July and withstands the summer heat (it is ideal for any garden, as a spot of color, or as a border plant)
- The larger and fully double or decorative types such as Lavender Lady, the “Aristocrat of the Garden,” a light lavender
- The very colorful Apricot Glow, a law growing bronze Apricot cushion ‘mum
- The newer creation Bokhara, a rich, soft, rosy crimson and wine shade
- Then there is Carnival, a very attractive newcomer, best described as a gleaming red and golden bronze with double flowers 3 1/2″ inches across.
This has attractive dark green foliage. Mellow Glow is another outstanding new soft huff orange with a touch of pink now and then. These flowers are often 3″ inches across.
Hybrid Korean Mums Are Easy
There are dozens of varieties and types of these hybrid Koreans. All are of easy culture and a great addition to your garden. These chrysanthemums will do well in any good garden soil.
However, belonging to the chrysanthemum family, they should be treated like your other chrysanthemums. If possible, select a location where you have good drainage and full sun most of the day.
Soil Requirements
Chrysanthemums will not do their best in wet soggy soil locations. The soil should be slightly acidic.
If possible fibrous soil should be used. This type of soil may be obtained by working in humus, leaf mold, or peat moss to a depth of 12″ inches so that the fibrous roots can have a chance to go down deep into the soil.
Before you spade your bed, add potash and superphosphate at the rate of four or five pounds to 100 square feet of the surface.
Some growers use a liberal supply of bone meal well before planting. If you should use bonemeal, remember that the food value is not as readily available as in other fertilizers.
Use Of Korean Mums
With the Korean chrysanthemums, you get the best effect when you use mass planting. Color arrangements can be worked out to suit your pleasure and taste.
Landscape effects can be achieved by planting where you have shrubbery or evergreens in the background. In such places, you should choose the hardiest varieties, such as Autumn Lights and North Star.
Other varieties will do well along a wall or on a sloping bank, or still, others make a nice edging, border, or low hedge. If your garden is formal, a paint of interest may be created by planting these in pots.
Once you have tried these chrysanthemums, you will begin to plan for your next year’s combinations with real enjoyment and interest.
One combination we have is Major Edward Bowes, a commercial variety, in the background, with Lavender Lady in the foreground. This gives two shades of lavender, and in this climate, they bloom simultaneously.
At the start, select a few varieties you think you will like in colors that suit your taste best. Begin on a modest scale.
With proper care, these plants can be multiplied by root division or softwood cuttings so that you will have ample rootstock in a few years.
How To Plant
In snaking plantings, I space my plants about 18” inches apart. When the plant is well established and has grown to a height of 8” to 10” inches, I pinch out the tip of the growing plant. This is called “stopping.”
A second “stopping” is usually done in July so the plants will be stocky and produce laterals on which the flowers will be borne.
The taller varieties are placed in the background. and these will need some kind of support. In most cases, you can use stakes, but care should be taken so that they do not spoil the decorative effect of your garden. Wires also can be used as a means of support if your bed is planted in rows.
This is done by fastening the wires to cross arms on posts at the end of the bed. This means one set of wires may be raised as the plants grow and need more support. We use strings tied to the wires so that the plant grows in a square space.
Usually, this is enough support. We found, however, that when you use wire support, better results are obtained if the plants are set 12 inches apart. You then have a more interesting display.
Additional Feeding
Summer feeding of chrysanthemum plants is advisable only when the plant shows signs of poor growth. In these cases, a quick-acting fertilizer is used, such as nitrate of soda or liquid manure.
An excess of nitrogen in the summer will cause the plants to grow tall and the stems to be weak, so they cannot hold the flowers. When the buds begin to form, use fertilizer, but here too, it must be the fertilizer that is available immediately.
Liquid manure is applied once every 10 days until the buds show color, and then feeding is stopped. When fertilizer is used, ensure the plants have had a good soaking. This prevents the burning of the tender root system.
If you have limited space in your perennial bed and want a chrysanthemum display, you can plant the hardy Korean ‘mums in your vegetable garden: or in some out-of-the-way place. Carry them until they are in full bud, then transplant them to the front bed.
The root system is a dense fibrous ball; if it is moved with the soil intact, no injury is done to the plant. It will quickly recover if plenty of water is given, and your bed will show color again in a few weeks.
Winter Protection
While the term “hardy” is applied to this variety of chrysanthemums, it refers to the type of bloom distinguished from the greenhouse varieties. Winter care is important, and several factors enter the problem of carrying over your rootstock for another year.
No matter where you live, it is a good practice to take up at least some of your chrysanthemum clumps after they bloom and set them in sandy soil to winter under the protection of a cold frame. They can also be placed in pots and wintered in a cool basement with plenty of light.
Poor drainage will cause the roots to decay, and the plants will not survive. I often take up a few. clumps and place them in a protected garden on top of the ground, then working soil around the roots.
Snow, ice, freezing, thawing, and wet soil all enter into this problem of winter care. A ditch that is dug so that the water will drain away from the plants has been used successfully.
New shoots will come up around the mother plant in the spring, providing the rootstock for your spring planting.
If you use the plant division method, simply take the old plant out of the ground and divide it carefully so that the new growth is not injured.
The fibrous roots are left on the new plants. These plants may be placed in your garden after the danger of frost is past. If propagation is by softwood cuttings, the new growth is cut at the ground’s surface with a sharp knife.
In the Northwest, this is done in March or April when the shoots are three or four inches tall. The lower leaves are then removed, and the cutting is placed in a flat rooting medium composed of 1/3 part sand, 1/3 peat moss, and 1/3 leaf mold.
A good hormone product to stimulate root growth will hasten root formation, and you will have fine plants to set out in May.
Culture Of Early English Mums
The cultural method of the early English varieties depends on how you want to grow your plants and for what purpose you desire to use the flower. If you want blooms in sprays, use the cultural method outlined for Koreans.
The large exhibition-type bloom is produced by allowing most food strength to go into a few buds rather than many flowers.
When this type of flower is desired, start with this in mind after preparing the soil as outlined.
The first thing to do is to space the plants 18” inches apart in the rows, allowing at least 2′ feet between rows. Next, pinch back the plant when it is well established to keep it low and bushy.
Your exhibition plants should not have over four laterals to the plant and, of course, take off all side shoots. This leaves a single stem. When the buds begin to form, select the one which grows at the top of the stem or lateral.
Feeding And Staking
Fertilization is important, and applications of an all-purpose commercial fertilizer are applied once a month, either in liquid form or dry, followed by a thorough watering. When the buds form, use a liquid manure fertilizer every 10 days until they show color and stop.
Don’t forget to stake the plants early so the heavy blooms will not break them. Do not allow your chrysanthemum plants to suffer from a lack of water. Always water so that the roots get a good soaking.
An all-purpose spray and a nicotine sulfate solution should be used every two weeks to keep the plants free from mildew, aphids, red spider, and other pests.
Cascade Varieties
Another chrysanthemum type that should be used more often by gardeners in this country is the cascade. In Japan, this is a very popular plant.
It grows in many gardens and is used as a potted plant in many public parks and buildings.
They also have a definite place in your garden and are exceptional in beauty and anti-daintiness. This type is known for the ease with which it may be trained to hang or “cascade” downward, and there are many garden effects to be achieved through its use with little time and effort.
They come in many shades of pink, copper, yellow, red, and white. However, any variety of chrysanthemums with a weak neck will make a good cascade. These include spoons, spiders, and Koreans.
They make lovely bushy plants when trained as “standards” and will grow over rock walls. They will make a beautiful display for weeks when grown in pots and trained.
If you wish to try a few cascades, following the approved pot culture method is best.
Soil is made by mixing equal parts of garden loam, leaf mold, and well-decayed cow manure. Add bonemeal.
Training Cascades
When the plant is about 12” inches tall, it is bent from about the middle and tied to a fairly long No. 10 gauge galvanized wire which is bent at an angle of 45 degrees. The supporting wires are pointed north to give the plant more light.
The plant should be tied with soft string or raffia at least once a week. All laterals and sub-laterals should be pinched at every second or third joint, and this continues until September 15. Additional wire support will be needed.
This should be attached to the wire supporting the main stem. You gradually lower the main stem by bending the wire until, by September 15, it is in a horizontal position. The plant is turned toward the south when the buds begin to form.
The plant should be lifted from the 6-inch pot. Two or three repottings are made as the root network requires. The final potting is made on August 15.
An application of all-purpose commercial fertilizer is made twice a month, starting in June and continuing until the buds begin to show color.
If the buds begin to form before August 15, they should be removed, for in most cases, these will be a cripple.
Your cascade may grow several feet in length, and to prevent damage to the main stem, it should be placed on a bench or box so it may grow downward.
I have grown cascades over a rock wall and had them bloom before the fall rains. I think it best to start these varieties early by taking cuttings in February.
44659 by Huston Porter