Quezi

Tube Chrysanthemum - courtesy tata_aka_T - CC-BY

Chrysanthemums come in so many different shapes and sizes, color and texture you can imagine. There are chrysanthemums that have petals seemingly as fine as hair, petals that curl,  pom pom style or buttons, even as single as a daisy.  There is a wide variety of texture in foliage as well.  Chrysanthemums come in every color but true blue.

These beauties make a welcome color splash in the garden when most summer blooms have begun to fade.  They will allow you to end your summer garden season in style.

Chrysanthemums bloom from August to early December here in Ohio, though I have had some bloom as early as the 4th of July.

They are best if planted in the spring and allowed get established. Give them a rich, well-drained soil, slightly on the alkaline side, though they are not bad about requiring certain soils and will thrive in any good soil that can grow vegetables.  For far too many of us, chrysanthemums are an impulse buy at the nursery when already in bloom late in the season.  While some of these may survive the winter, planting them this way does not allow all the time they need to get established in the ground.

Feeding every 3-4 weeks until buds set will create better flowers.  To have neat, bushier plant with lots of blooms, pinch off the top 1 to 2 inches of growth once taller varieties are at least 6 inches high and for shorter varieties, 4 to 5 inches high.

Established mums can be dug and divided in spring, every 2 – 3 years or as necessary.

For more information about growing chrysanthemums