Author: Elena N. https://floristics.info/ru/index.php?option=com_contact&view=contact&id=19 Category: Garden plants Published: February 28, 2019Last edits: April 26, 2021
- When to plant
- How to care
- Care after flowering
- Chrysanthemum grandiflora
Chrysanthemum is rightly called the queen of autumn - for its luxurious flowering until frost. But not every queen can boast of such stamina and character! The most cold-resistant specimens can bloom even until mid-December, and if the flowering bush is transplanted into a pot in time, then you have every chance to admire the chrysanthemum blooming until Christmas! Chrysanthemum is also considered an ideal cut flower crop. With proper care, bouquets of chrysanthemums remain fresh for a whole month. Chrysanthemum easily endures long trips. Easy to care for, cold and drought resistant. It would seem that this flower is absolutely self-sufficient. But it will still be useful for an attentive gardener to know some nuances of care.
- Why can chrysanthemum flowers become smaller?
- How to make a winter “blanket” for chrysanthemums?
- When and why do you need to dig chrysanthemums into a trench?
Read our article.
Description of the plant
Chrysanthemum is a long-blooming symbol of emperors. The great thing about chrysanthemums is that they bloom until late autumn. Their noble charm was appreciated by residents of the Far East, where these plants are found in nature. Most chrysanthemums come from Korea, China, and Japan.
They came to Europe 300 years ago, but only gained popularity during Art Nouveau times, thanks to the fashion for this type of flower, when they became a characteristic motif of the pattern. They decorated ceramics, porcelain, paintings, and textiles.
This is interesting! The stylized chrysanthemum is part of the coat of arms of the Emperor of Japan, and in China it was forbidden to export their seedlings for centuries. The flower was associated with nobility and immortality.
Chrysanthemums (Chrysanthemum) are a very large group of plants that perfectly decorate flower beds. We also know them as stunning cut flowers that can be purchased from any florist. These are plants of the Asteraceae family.
The word chrysanthemum comes from the word chrysos, which means gold. This group includes plants:
- greenhouse grown (Indian);
- ground (Arctic, Indian, Korean).
Their height, depending on the species, is very diverse, ranging from 25 to 250 cm. The stems of the plants are usually hard, covered with thin hairs. The leaves are dark green, pinnate or toothed, up to 15 cm long.
When choosing chrysanthemums for growing in the garden, you should know that this group includes annual and perennial plants.
Garden chrysanthemums come in different colors: white, red, brown, pink, yellow. Chrysanthemum flowers are divided into:
- simple - the flower basket consists of ligulate marginal flowers located in one row, the middle of the inflorescence is filled with yellow tubular flowers;
- semi-double – characterized by a convex center of the flower;
- terry - belong to the most diverse group, the marginal flowers are arranged in multi-rows, forming double spherical inflorescences in the form of pompoms.
The inflorescences are divided into needle-shaped, dahlia-like, aster-like, and spherical chrysanthemums; their cultivation and care differ slightly. These are mainly hybrids, that is, varieties of chrysanthemum obtained as a result of complex crossings.
Planting chrysanthemums in open ground
As we said earlier, this plant can be planted in both spring and autumn, but take into account weather conditions. In the first case, you should plant the chrysanthemum only in warm weather, when the cold weather has completely disappeared (approximately mid-April). As for autumn planting, chrysanthemums should be planted no later than a couple of weeks before the onset of cold weather (ideally, late September). It is noteworthy that half a year before planting chrysanthemums, you will need to prepare the soil. Dig it thoroughly, after fertilizing it with organic fertilizers or humus.
This will allow the plant to take root faster and develop better.
Also, when landing, you will have to follow certain rules:
- Plant chrysanthemum on a cloudy day, or better yet, in light rain.
- For chrysanthemums, the best choice is not holes under each bush, but a long trench.
- Retreat between bushes from 30 to 50 cm, depending on the size of the variety.
- Soak the chrysanthemum roots in the root solution for better rooting and development.
- Create greenhouse conditions for the plant. It will be enough to cover them with film or other dense and transparent material.
- Water the plant well.
Guseva Ulyana
Ask a Question
Question to the expert
Which chrysanthemum propagation method should I choose?
In fact, there is no difference. Chrysanthemum is a plant that will take root equally well, regardless of its method of propagation. Choose the method that you like best, just follow the correct landing technique.
Types and varieties
There are many classifications of chrysanthemums.
In the fall, especially in November, a lot of beautiful varieties of chrysanthemums appear on sale with:
- large flowers formed one on each shoot;
- small flowers, numerous on branched shoots.
These beautiful specimens are treated as seasonal plants and are propagated by qualified gardeners.
Worth knowing! Chrysanthemums are short-day flowers. This feature causes most of them to bloom so late. Of course, in specialized greenhouse growing facilities, gardeners can regulate lighting and temperature, so we can admire chrysanthemums at any time of the year.
Chrysanthemums will certainly decorate your apartment with expressive flowers. Low-growing varieties of chrysanthemums from the greenhouse group are suitable for growing as cut flowers. It should be remembered that the plant needs to be dug up after flowering. Most of the beautiful chrysanthemums are not capable of overwintering in the soil due to sensitivity to negative temperatures.
Some chrysanthemums can be grown in open ground all year round. An example is the Korean chrysanthemum (Chrysanthemum × coreaum). Chrysanthemum × coreaum blooms in late autumn. This more frost-resistant variety comes in numerous colors:
- "Apollo" is a beautiful variety with orange-red flowers;
- “Hebe” – with a pure pink color;
- 'Nancy Copland' is an expressive variety with cherry blossoms.
They can reach several tens of centimeters in height, but are usually taller. To make bush chrysanthemums bloom abundantly, the tops should be removed in early summer. This procedure will ensure stronger tillering and, therefore, more flowers. The species has several uses - it works well in gardens, in groups, and rockeries.
Arctic chrysanthemum (Chrysanthemum arcticum) is suitable for decorating rocky gardens. The plant is characterized by a creeping form and reaches 30 cm in height. The Arctic variety blooms from September to October with white flower petals and a greenish center.
Perennial chrysanthemums are plants belonging to the genus Dendranthema. Among them are common:
- varieties for ridges (frost-resistant or partially frost-resistant varieties suitable for growing in open ground);
- potted plants;
- varieties grown for cut flowers (most of them require cultivation in greenhouses).
You can read more in the article - Varieties of chrysanthemums.
Due to their suitability for growing in the garden, in unprotected soil, in the remainder of the article we will focus on perennial chrysanthemums.
Preparing for winter
In order for your chrysanthemums to bloom as profusely and beautifully next year, you should make sure that they overwinter well.
In the fall, when flowering ends or before the first frost, the plant should be fed with phosphorus-potassium fertilizer, cut off the stems, leaving 10-15 cm from the soil and covered. Pruning helps prevent the flowers from rotting and the development of harmful ridges on its stems. You can use spruce branches or mulch with leaves as shelter.
But chrysanthemums with large inflorescences are afraid of frost, so before the cold weather they need to be dug up along with the roots and placed in a pot. Until the next planting, flowers should be stored in a room with a temperature of 0-5 degrees. Caring for them during this period comes down to watering the soil, which should not dry out.
Landing
To grow chrysanthemums in flower beds, you need to choose a sunny place. The most suitable position is well protected from the cold.
Soil selection
Some varieties have a very poorly developed root system. On the other hand, they may have a highly developed aerial part. Because of this imbalance, special soils are required.
The soil must be permeable. Chrysanthemums prefer fertile, humus, nutritious soils rich in minerals. Heavy soils increase the likelihood of plants freezing. The optimal pH for this plant ranges from 6.5-7; under these conditions, nutrients are absorbed better and faster. Substrates that include peat or a mixture of peat and sand (90% peat, 10% sand) work well.
Purchase and storage of seedlings
It is better to plant purchased seedlings in late spring, when the risk of frost has passed.
Seedlings can be stored for a short time in good conditions. In a cold room at 4-5 °C and a relative humidity of 80-90% they can be stored for several days, but not longer than a week. Long-term storage, even at low temperatures, leads to the growth and “stretching” of seedlings. This negatively affects the development of seedlings and can affect the entry of plants into the generative phase (flowering) under short-day conditions even at the stage of growing seedlings.
Landing
The planting site should be prepared in the fall of the previous year by enriching the soil with compost or well-spread manure. A manure substitute can be manure granules, amophoska or vermicompost.
The distance between plants should be 30-40 centimeters. One seedling is planted in a pot, placing it in the center and deepening it well. Some gardeners plant chrysanthemums in this way: they pour the substrate only half or ¾ of the height of the pot; when the plant grows above the pot, it rests on the edges of the pot and does not break.
Immediately after planting, the plants are watered, then the watering is stopped for about a week (but without allowing the substrate to dry out too much - the weather must be taken into account). This method should ensure good rooting of seedlings buried deep in the substrate and ensure good stability of the planted plants.
When growing a plant in open ground for cut flowers, the plant density per square meter should be 48-64, or even 80 plants (for small varieties).
Small-flowered varieties are planted from late April to late June.
During the first week, you need to take care of the good survival of the plants, provide good conditions - if necessary, spray, shade, protect from drafts. In the first week after planting, chrysanthemums can be fed with fertilizer with a high phosphorus content. The use of biostimulating agents can also have a good effect at this stage.
Growing and care
Chrysanthemums are relatively easy to grow. In order for plants to be beautiful and healthy, we must provide them with optimal conditions for development. When growing chrysanthemums, much depends on the quality of the material used for planting, planting technique and proper agricultural practices at the beginning of cultivation. Every 3-4 years, plants should be replanted to a new location. After flowering, the above-ground part should be cut to a height of about 10 cm.
Weed the flower bed regularly and water during drought. Some varieties start blooming as early as August and stay in bloom until November, so the effort will pay off.
It is important to remove weeds on time.
Breaking off shoots, supports
About 2 weeks after planting, it is worth trimming the tops of the shoots (cut off about 1.5 cm). This will ensure better tillering of the plants. To prevent the stems from falling sideways under the weight of the flowers (there is such a tendency), the tips are broken off when they reach 10-15 cm. This will force the plant to grow. For summer varieties, it is enough to break off the tip once, for autumn varieties – 2-3 times.
The treatment is carried out on the young, non-lignified part of the shoot, above the 5-8 leaf.
Tall plants require support.
Watering
In our climatic conditions, watering has a significant impact on the growth vigor and general condition of plants. Due to the fact that chrysanthemums require regular watering, the ideal solution is to install a drip irrigation line. Plants react negatively to overdrying, which manifests itself in the rapid withering of entire bushes.
It is important to prevent excessive root flooding. Watering too much can lead to rotting and fungal diseases. If leaves are frequently wetted, plants are at risk of rust infection.
Feeding
Chrysanthemums, due to their “gluttony” during the growth period, require systematic fertilizer, up to 2 times a month.
Chrysanthemum seedlings planted in the spring will require additional feeding during the development of flower buds. They are then fed every 2 weeks with diluted liquid fertilizer. Immediately before the buds open, fertilizing should be stopped. If you continue to feed chrysanthemums, their shoots may become too wild and lethargic. This will worsen the appearance of garden chrysanthemums and increase the risk of disease. If the soil is properly prepared in the fall, it will have enough nutrients to support proper plant growth.
Plant shading
Chrysanthemums are short-day plants; they set and develop flower buds when the day is short - 8-12 hours. On longer days, flower buds are delayed or do not appear at all, and plants grow vegetatively (large increase in heavily leafy shoots). Artificially shortening the day through the use of shading mats allows flowering to occur at any time.
Autumn care and wintering of chrysanthemums
Some chrysanthemums can overwinter in unprotected soil in flower beds. To do this, you need to choose frost-resistant varieties. Frost resistance is demonstrated by varieties of reddish chrysanthemum (Chrysanthemum rubellum). The previously mentioned Indian chrysanthemum Clara curtis will also cope with frost.
In autumn, when the first frosts destroy the inflorescences, cut the chrysanthemum stems at a height of about 15 cm above the soil surface. Pruning reduces the risk of plant rotting and fungal diseases.
Attention! Chrysanthemums do not tolerate excessive humidity very well. Therefore, to protect them from frost, choose a ventilated shelter, for example, spruce branches. Under no circumstances cover cut shoots of chrysanthemums with leaves or compost for the winter.
If the soil in the flowerbed is very wet, it is better to dig up the rhizome and move it for the winter to a cold, clean room, protected from frost - a greenhouse, an unheated greenhouse.
Chrysanthemums grown in pots require moving to frost-protected areas. Potted chrysanthemums left on terraces and balconies are doomed to freeze.
Growing chrysanthemums from seeds
Sowing seeds
Chrysanthemums are most easily propagated by cuttings and dividing queen cells, but often chrysanthemums grown from seeds are a source of special pride for breeders. Seed propagation is used in the cultivation of both perennial (for example, Korean chrysanthemums) and annual species. We will tell you how to grow chrysanthemums using the example of seed propagation of annual species.
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In May, after spring frosts, 2-3 seeds are placed in holes located 20-25 cm from each other and spilled with warm water and, sprinkled with soil, cover the bed with garden film to retain heat and moisture in the soil. As soon as the seedlings hatch, the film must be removed and the soil carefully loosened, destroying the weeds. After ten days, the seedlings need to be fed with heavily diluted Ideal or Rainbow. When the sprouts reach a height of 7-10 cm, leave one strong seedling with 3-4 true leaves in the hole; you can plant the remaining sprouts in another place. Your annuals will bloom in early August. If you want chrysanthemums to bloom early, you need to first grow seedlings from seeds.
Growing seedlings
Seedlings need to be grown at room temperature in shallow boxes with a soil mixture consisting of equal parts of greenhouse soil, humus and peat. It is better to purchase the mixture in a store where it is sold after disinfection and disinfestation, but if you decide to make it yourself, then do not forget to sift and calcinate it at a temperature of 110-130 ºC. Place broken bricks or expanded clay at the bottom of the box to create a drainage layer, then place the soil mixture and spread the seeds on it. The seeds of annual chrysanthemums are sprinkled with a 0.5 cm layer of soil; the seeds of perennial chrysanthemums are not covered, but only lightly pressed to the soil.
Now spray the surface with water from a spray bottle, cover the boxes with film or glass and keep at a temperature of 23-25 ºC, ventilating and spraying with warm water from time to time so that the soil does not dry out.
Unless something unexpected happens, seedlings should appear in one and a half to two weeks. Now move the containers to the brightest place and begin to gradually accustom the seedlings to the environment, removing the glass or film first for one hour, then for two, and so on, until it’s time to remove the coating completely. If the seedlings are too dense, then when 2-4 leaves (not cotyledons, but real ones) appear, they are dropped into cups with the same soil mixture, trying not to damage the roots of the chrysanthemum seedlings. To do this, before picking, moisten the soil in the boxes abundantly. Seedlings that are weakened or too elongated are discarded. After picking, the seedlings are sprayed with a solution of Zircon or Epin to help them take root faster.
In the photo: Chrysanthemum seedlings
Seedling care
Picked chrysanthemum seedlings are kept in a room with a temperature of 16-18 ºC, watered when necessary, and fed twice a month with a solution of complex fertilizer. If necessary, additional fluorescent illumination will be arranged. Be prepared for the seedlings to grow slowly: after a month and a half they will become about 20 cm in height.
Chrysanthemum propagation
Chrysanthemums are propagated by cuttings and dividing the bush. Some varieties can be propagated by seeds and even collected seeds, which then repeat the features of the mother plant, for example, dendranthema grandiflora.
Propagation by cuttings
Chrysanthemum stems cut in the fall will produce new shoots from their side buds in the spring. Shoots growing from the rhizome at the base of the main shoot can be cut into cuttings. This is done in early spring.
Stages of work:
- Cuttings are cut to a length of 5-6 cm.
- The lower end of the cuttings (about 1 cm) should be immersed in the rooting agent.
- The cuttings are planted in a pot filled with a mixture of peat and sand (1:1 ratio).
- Cuttings should be watered regularly and protected from drying out and temperature drops below 15 °C. The optimal temperature for cuttings is 16-18 degrees Celsius. Such conditions are provided in greenhouses.
Chrysanthemum cuttings should take root after 3 weeks. Then you can begin hardening (getting used to external conditions by frequently ventilating the greenhouse). You can transplant seedlings into unprotected soil at the end of spring, when the danger of frost has passed. In June, chrysanthemum seedlings should be planted in the ground.
Dividing the bush
Different types of chrysanthemums are divided at different times:
- blooming in late autumn, divided in spring;
- Blooming in summer, divide immediately after flowering.
The division should be done every few years. Having dug up the plant, it is carefully divided into parts with a sharp tool. If necessary, roots that are too long and overgrown can be trimmed a little.
Delenki should be planted in fertile, humus soil. In soils that are too light, sandy, chrysanthemums are more likely to freeze. They are also susceptible to overdrying.
From seeds
Chrysanthemums can be propagated by seeds. Dendranthema grandiflora or Siberian, Korean small-flowered and annual varieties are propagated from seeds. Seeds of annual varieties are sown in the ground in mid-late May, when warm weather sets in and the soil warms up to 14-15 degrees. Experienced gardeners sow chrysanthemums at the same time as cucumbers. These are heat-loving plants. Seeds germinate approximately 2 weeks after planting.
Diseases and pests
Sometimes chrysanthemums are attacked by diseases or pests. You need to be vigilant to start the fight as soon as possible.
Powdery mildew
This is a very common disease among many plants and appears as a white powdery coating. In case of disease, spray the appropriate antifungal agent (for example, Topaz), heavily infected parts of the chrysanthemum are removed. Treatment should be repeated 3 times.
Rust
In addition to powdery mildew, it is worth mentioning rust, which manifests itself in rusty spots on the leaves. It is worth choosing varieties with greater resistance to rust.
White rust chrysanthemums
The disease is caused by the fungus Puccinia horiana. Often appears in greenhouses due to high humidity. The fungus affects leaves and other above-ground parts of plants. White or light green, round spots appear on the upper side of the leaves. The spots can be single or multiple, sometimes merging into one spot, covering the entire leaf. On the back of the leaf, a cluster of spores in the form of white pillows is visible.
Severely affected leaves become deformed, dry out, do not fall, and hang on the plant. The fungus develops at temperatures from 0 ° C to 30 ° C (the optimal temperature for its development is 17-21 ° C) and relative air humidity above 96%. At lower humidity, spores in the air die within minutes. The first symptoms from the moment of infection appear after 5-6 days, so you can buy seedlings that look healthy, but are already infected with fungi.
The pathogen overwinters on infected plants, often on those that do not show signs of rust. The fungus remains viable on plant debris for up to 8 weeks.
It is important to carry out prevention:
- do not plant flowers too densely;
- water in the morning, do not spray the leaves (do not leave the plants wet at night);
- preventively spray flowers with fungicides after planting;
- spray with special preparations as soon as possible after detecting the first symptoms of the disease;
- burn vegetable waste (do not compost).
Septoria leaf blight
The causative agent is Septoria chrysanthemella. The most common fungal disease of chrysanthemum. The first symptoms, in the form of dark brown, mostly round spots, appear on the oldest leaves. In humid conditions and rainy weather, the disease quickly spreads to young leaves. Severely infected leaves are brown, dry and die prematurely. Plants become weaker, flowers become smaller.
Protection options are root watering, crop rotation, preventative spraying of plants at 10-day intervals with approved medications, especially in rainy weather.
Sclerotinia sclerotiiformes
Symptoms of the disease most often appear during storage in the form of thick, fluffy white mycelium covering the roots of the plant. In the white mycelium, a black sclerotia of the fungus is visible, the size of a grain of wheat. The disease causes the greatest losses during storage. The disease is introduced through infected roots or leaf debris. The first symptoms of infection may appear on the petioles or at the base of leaves, visible as dark brown, watery spots.
Verticillium wilt
The fungus causes the death of leaves in the lower parts of the plant. It is necessary to carry out treatments with antifungal drugs in a timely manner and avoid dampness in the flowerbed.
Bacterial rot
Another serious disease affecting these beautiful flowers. Infected bushes have soft stems, and after an initial yellowing the plant turns brown and dies. This is a rapidly spreading disease that occurs primarily in the fall. Occurs due to excessive soil moisture. To prevent the development of this disease, remove infected shoots and increase the potassium content in the soil.
Gray mold
High humidity, often due to overly dense plantings, can lead to gray mold. The disease leads to the death of flower buds. Infected plants should be discarded to prevent the spread of the disease.
Viral diseases
These diseases cause changes in the appearance of the plant (changes in color, size and appearance of flowers and leaves). Unfortunately, they are not curable, you can only prevent them. To do this, you need to remove infected plants and disinfect the tools with which they are grown.
Pests
Pests that can harm chrysanthemums include:
- Chrysanthemum nematode. Symptoms of damage are the appearance of brown spots and drying out of plants. The appearance of nematodes is prevented by applying special protective measures to the soil.
- The plant is sometimes attacked by spider mites, western thrips, cutworms, snails, broomrape fly, and aphids. If they appear, use an appropriate insecticide.
Aphids are a very dangerous pest; as a result of their feeding, the plant is deformed, growth and flowering are inhibited. If a colony of aphids appears, you need to act immediately.
Caring for garden chrysanthemum
How to care
Planting and caring for chrysanthemums is not particularly difficult, but there are certain rules that even an amateur gardener needs to know. For example, when seedlings planted in open ground grow stronger and produce their eighth leaf, they need to be pinched to enhance branching. For the same purpose, you need to pinch the young side shoots that will appear soon, and then you will get a nice, thick bush that will look like a fluffy ball when in bloom. This rule does not apply to large-flowered chrysanthemums; it is better to remove their side shoots altogether, leaving only a few of the strongest ones. Removed shoots take root easily. Some tall varieties of chrysanthemums require support, for which you can use metal pegs, nets or wire structures that will hold the bush and prevent it from falling apart.
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Watering
As for moisture, each watering of chrysanthemums should be plentiful: lack of moisture makes the stems lignified and the flowers less attractive. Only rain or settled water is used (you can add a couple of drops of ammonia). Avoid getting water on the leaves, pour it under the root. Watering is accompanied by loosening the soil around the bush and removing weeds, unless you mulch the area after planting.
Fertilizer
Caring for chrysanthemums also includes mandatory feeding. During the growing season, at least three feedings of chrysanthemums are carried out alternately with mineral and organic fertilizers. Of the mineral ones , at the beginning of growth, chrysanthemums respond best to nitrogen fertilizers (ammonium nitrogen is best), as a result of which the green mass actively increases, and in order to stimulate intensive flowering of the chrysanthemum, feed it with phosphorus-potassium fertilizers during the budding period. Fertilizers are used by plants in the form of solutions that are poured under the roots the day after rain or watering. The first feeding should take place in the first 6-8 weeks after planting. Among organic fertilizers, chrysanthemums love burnt mullein or bird droppings, but the gardener’s golden rule is that it is better to underfeed the plant than to burn it.
How to transplant
A chrysanthemum should not grow in one place for more than three years, otherwise it begins to act up: the flowers become smaller, the plant begins to get sick often. Therefore, in the spring you need to dig up plants that are three years old and replant them. Usually, replanting chrysanthemums is accompanied by dividing the bush - another way to propagate chrysanthemums. Carefully dig up the bush, trying not to damage the roots, shake off the soil and use a sharp knife or pruning shears to divide the thickened bush into small bushes with roots. Now plant these bushes in a sunny area in the usual way.
Diseases and their treatment
If you allow lush thickets to form in the area where chrysanthemums grow or do not follow the rules of agricultural technology for these plants, you can expose chrysanthemums to fungal diseases:
- Verticillium wilt (the fungus penetrates the roots, causing the leaves to turn yellow and the stems to die);
- powdery mildew (affects shoots, leaves, buds and flowers, covering them with a harmful white coating);
- rust (all above-ground organs of the plant become covered with chlorotic spots, which then turn brown, the leaves turn yellow, the stems become thinner);
- gray rot (blurred brown spots appear, becoming covered over time with a fluffy coating that causes rotting).
Fungal infections can be treated with preparations containing copper - copper oxychloride, for example, successfully fights septoria, gray mold and rust. Bordeaux liquid destroys powdery mildew and gray rot, and copper-soap emulsion and colloidal sulfur destroy rust. But the main thing is not to allow chrysanthemums to grow randomly, to follow the rules of plant care and to detect diseases in a timely manner in order to save the chrysanthemums.
Unfortunately, sometimes chrysanthemums suffer from viral diseases:
- mosaic (speckled mosaic on chrysanthemum leaves);
- aspermia (mottling of leaves and deformation of flowers);
- dwarfism (stunted growth and premature flowering).
Plants affected by viral diseases, unfortunately, are incurable, so they need to be detected, dug up and destroyed in a timely manner. As a preventive method of protection against viruses, it is necessary to use sterile instruments during vegetative propagation and fight against insects that carry viruses.
Pests of chrysanthemums
Of the insects, nematodes most often harm chrysanthemums, whose presence can be detected by the appearance of mosaic spots on the leaves, which darken over time. It is already useless to fight this problem, but as a preventative measure, before digging up or planting (transplanting) chrysanthemums in the autumn, spray the plants with a Phosfamide solution and treat the soil with formaldehyde. Specimens affected by the nematode must be destroyed.
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Another pest of chrysanthemums is aphids, which settle on the lower part of the leaf or bud. The insects themselves, as well as their larvae, suck the juice from the plant, which slows down the growth and flowering of chrysanthemums. If you are dealing with a single colony of aphids, then it is destroyed along with the leaves on which it has settled, but if the plant is covered with aphids, spray it with Actellik or Aktara with the addition of laundry soap.
In the photo: How chrysanthemums bloom
Sometimes a meadow bug settles on a chrysanthemum, which, together with its larvae, just like aphids, feeds on plant sap. Consequence: the buds do not open, the leaves become spotted, turn brown and die. Spray the plant affected by bugs with a solution of baby shampoo (1 teaspoon per 10 liters of water). As a preventative measure, chrysanthemum bushes are treated with phosphamide.
A danger to chrysanthemums are garden slugs and snails , which can devour leaves, flowers and plant stems.
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But when dealing with them, you need to use an organic approach, that is, use gentle control methods so as not to disturb the garden ecosystem, in which snails and slugs perform an important sanitary function.
Therefore, preventive measures to combat them are welcomed in gardening: the correct selection and combination of plants, natural control over the number of pests by attracting birds, and so on. If trouble happens and slugs begin to devour your chrysanthemums, collect them by hand, dig plastic rims around the bushes that prevent slugs from getting to the bushes, sprinkle the ground around the bushes with crushed eggshells, which will prevent the snails from getting closer to the plants... Finally, place them in the flower garden bowls with beer and after a while collect your “harvest” of slugs around them.
Application in landscape design
These are plants with very versatile uses, with different varieties enjoying growing popularity.
Chrysanthemums can be used as follows:
- in garden beds;
- in containers on terraces, balconies;
- like cut flowers for vases.
Chrysanthemums will help maintain the elegant, decorative appearance of a flower bed until winter comes. On an autumn morning, when the first frosts have passed, flowering plants, the petals of which are covered with ice crystals or drops of dew showering the flowers, will add a special charm to the garden.
What can I do to make chrysanthemums last longer in a vase?
Chrysanthemums are one of the most durable cut flowers. Their shelf life can be up to 4 weeks. Thanks to appropriate care procedures (mainly light control), cut chrysanthemums are available throughout the year.
- do not buy chrysanthemums whose flowers are weakly held, dangling, and whose leaves do not have an intense color (this means that they dry out);
- shorten the ends of the stems by about 2 centimeters;
- it is necessary to shorten the stems at an angle - thanks to this we unblock the conducting vessels located in the stem so that the plant can take water;
- fill the vase with fresh, clean water;
- change the water in the vase every day, each time you will have to shorten the stem by about 1 centimeter;
- It’s good to add conditioner for cut flowers to the water - in this case you don’t need to change the water every day, just add fresh water;
- Instead of conditioner, you can add aspirin to the water - it extends the freshness of cut flowers.
