Chrysanthemum

Plant Characteristics

Lifespan:	⌛	perennial
Origin:	✈	Asia, NE Europe

Cultivation

Exposure:	☼	full sun"full sun" is not in the list (sun, part-sun, shade, unknown) of allowed values for the "Exposure" property.
Water:	◍	regular"regular" is not in the list (wet, moist, moderate, dry, less when dormant) of allowed values for the "Water" property.
Features:	✓	flowers
Sunset Zones:		see species

Scientific Names

Asteraceae >

Chrysanthemum >

There are about 160 species of Chrysanthemum, so the genus is very broad. Most of the ones we know are of the species C. morifolium, better known as Florists' Chrysanthemum. These bloom in autumn, are the most useful, with a rainbow of colors and flower forms, as well as growth habits. The flowers are good cut flowers as well. The Shasta Daisy (C. maximum) is another popular species that is a heavy summer and fall bloom of white flowers with gold centers, with varying flower forms. The number of cultivars is probably countless, and growing quickly. Below is a general breakout of the many types into groupings which will simplify how to care for them.

The species of Chrysanthemum are herbaceous perennial plants, with deeply lobed leaves and large flowerheads, white, yellow or pink in the wild species.

Garden Chrysanthemums

These have a bushy, branched habit. Clusters of flowerheads come in a large variety of colors. They are divided into two loose categories, garden types, which tend to the upright, and cushion, which is more of a mound. Flowers come over a long period, usually during early or midseason They are suitable for annual or herbaceous borders. C. segetum works well in wildflower gardens as well.

Exhibition Chrysanthemums

One of the many unusual forms of flower.

The many cultivars in this group come in a riot of colors and forms. They are perennial and grown for cut flowers, garden color/interest and of course, exhibitions. There are many flower forms, with about a dozen popular named styles which they are often categorized by (irregular incurve, reflex, regular incurve, decorative, intermediate incurve, pompon, semi-double, anemone, spoon, quill, spider and brush), along with their flowering season which is broken out into early (late summer and early fall), midseason (late summer/early fall), or late (mid-fall to early winter) - as well as whether they are disbudded or non-disbudded. Those that are disbudded get classified into groups by size. The non-disbudded are classified by size as well as habit.

If you are growing exhibition mums outdoors, your best bet are the ones with an early-flowering spray, reflexed cultivars and pompoms. Midseason reflexed mums make be happy outside, but usually need to be protected from rain and frost. Late-flowering cultivars are brought to flower in a greenhouse - either temperate or warm.

Disbudded

Remove all flower buds on a shoot except for the terminal bud for biggest blooms. For an exhibition plant, those with incurred, intermediate or reflexed flowers are restricted to just 2 blooms per plant, while in your garden you can allow 4 or 5 buds to bloom per plant. Single and anemone-centered Chrysanthemums are allowed 4-8 blooms in exhibition, while those for your garden and cutting flowers can have 10 or more.

Non-disbudded

Buds are allowed to develop naturally in non-disbudded type plants. The non-disbudded are grouped according their habits:

• Spray chrysanthemums - stems have several flowers. Forms on spray group plants are single, intermediate, reflexed, anemone-centered, pompon, spoon-shaped or quill-shaped. Primarily grown as garden or cutting plants. In an exhibition, each pedicel must have one flowerhead, and the terminal flowerhead must be present, each having at least 5 adjacent flowerheads. Plants in this group grown commercially normally have the central bud removed to give the plant a more rounded shape.
• Charm chrysanthemums - dwarf, bushy, domed habit which is basically spherical, giving hundreds of single-form flowers up to 1 inch (2.5cm) across. They are allowed to grow without stopping or training no matter if they are for the garden, exhibition or as a bonsai.
• Cascade chrysanthemums - flowers are like those of the charm, but trained into different shapes including cascades, pyramids, fans and pillars. Like the charm, these are suitable for bonsai, as well as gardens and exhibitions.
• Pompon chrysanthemums - dwarf, bushy plants. 50 or more flowers are densely arranged, either spherically or hemispherically on a plant. These work well in herbaceous borders.

Rubellum Group Chrysanthemums

Perennials. Bushy and clumping. All are hybrids of C. rubellum (syn. Dendranthema zawadskii). Leaves are pinnatisect, frequently silvery. Flowerheads come in a range of colors, all with a yellow center. They may be single, semi-double or double. Flowers from late summer to early fall. Great as cut flowers, and in herbaceous borders.

Cultivation

Cultivated chrysanthemums can be yellow, white, or even bright red, such as these.

Early and mid-season flowering mums grow outdoors in sheltered spots. They like full sun, fertile soil, which is moist but drains well, neutral (or slightly acidic) pH, with well rotted manure. Balanced fertilizer should be used on the soil in a top-dressing before planting them, which should only be done after any chance of frost has passed. As it grows, provide support if necessary, tying with soft twine as it grows. Eventual height can vary widely, depending partly on pruning and fertilization. Plants can be stopped at 6-8 inches (15-20cm) to help encourage flowering lateral production. Stopping those laterals again will encourage an even larger number of blooms, although they'll be smaller. If you want exhibition type blooms, only allow the right number of strong flower stems to remain. Gradually remove undesirable buds, as laterals reach 3/4 in (2cm) in length. The timing of all of this depends on how quickly the plant is growing, but a rule of thumb is to stop all of the disbudding/stopping by July 15 in cooler climates and by July 25 in warmer.

Water freely when conditions are dry. Give balanced fertilizer once a week to a week and a half from mid-summer to when the buds start showing color. When flowers are past their prime, cut back their stems to 6-9 inches (15-23cm). In cooler climates, dig up the crowns and store them in a frost-free place, in soilless potting mix. In warmer climates, apply a thick layer of dry mulch before winter, and in early spring cut back the plant. Early and mid-season exhibition cultivars should be protected from frost and rain. These types are best grown in a cold greenhouse or an open-sided plastic-covered lath house, and the same is true for large-flowered exhibition cultivars.

Late flowering exhibition chrysanthemums, which include the charms, cascades and late flowering sprays all do best in a porous soil-based mix that is slightly acidic, and has added manure. Grow in 3 in. (7.5cm) pots and continually repot into larger sizes until they flower in 9-12 inch (25-30cm) pots, supported with stakes. Do not disbud plants until a week and a half after repotting. Begin growing in a cold frame, then move into warm greenhouse early in the fall, providing adequate air ventilation and always maintaining the temprature above 50F (10C). Water moderately beginning in mid-summer on, and give a balanced fertilizer weekly.

Rubellum Group and annual mums should be grown in full sun, in well drained soil which is moderately fertile.

Propagation

Plant seeds of plants in the charms and cascades groups of Chrysanthemums in late winter to spring at 55-61F (13-16 C). Rubellum group should be sown at the same temperatures in the spring, or by division in fall or early spring. In colder climates sow the seeds of annual types in a cold frame during early spring or in situ in spring to early summer, and in mild climates sow them in situ during autumn for them to bloom early early in the season the next year.

Exhibition types which are overwintered can be used to get basal cuttings - for those that are late flowering take the cuttings in early to mid-winter. All other types of Chrysanthemum cuttings can be taken early in spring. Root cuttings at 61F (16C) in a sandy potting mix, preferably soilless. Protect from cold, in cold frame if necessary. Maintain ventilation if possible. Hardening is possible beginning in mid-spring.

Pests and diseases

Susceptible to aphids, earwigs, nematodes, capsid bugs, leaf miners, whiteflies, fungal rot, gray mold (Botrytis), powdery mildew, white rust, and viruses. Viruses can result in puckering of the leaves, yellow marks or stunt the growth. Used as food plants by the larvae of some Lepidoptera species — see list of Lepidoptera which feed on Chrysanthemum.

Species

The genus once included many more species, but has been split. The defining species, Chrysanthemum indicum, was also changed, then changed back after much controversy thereby restoring the economically important florist's chrysanthemum to the genus Chrysanthemum. These species were, after the splitting of the genus but before the ICBN ruling, commonly treated under the genus name Dendranthema.

The other species previously treated in the narrow view of the genus Chrysanthemum are now transferred to the genus Glebionis. The other genera split off from Chrysanthemum include Argyranthemum, Leucanthemopsis, Leucanthemum, Rhodanthemum, and Tanacetum.

About 160 species, including:

Sortable table

Latin	Synonyms	Common names	USDA Zones	Sunset Zones
Chrysanthemum aphrodite	x	none	0	na
Chrysanthemum arcticum	Arctanthemum arcticum	none	0	1-24, 32-45
Chrysanthemum argyrophyllum	x	none	0	na
Chrysanthemum arisanense	x	none	0	na
Chrysanthemum balsamita	Tanacetum balsamita	Costmary	0	2-24, 28-41
Chrysanthemum boreale	x	none	0	na
Chrysanthemum chalchingolicum	x	none	0	na
Chrysanthemum carinatum	x	Summer Chrys., Tricolor Chrys.	0	All zones
Chrysanthemum chanetii	x	none	0	na
Chrysanthemum cinerariaefolium	x	none	0	na
Chrysanthemum coccineum	Pyrethrum roseum, Tanacetum coccineum	Pyrethrum, Painted daisy	0	2-24, 33-41
Chrysanthemum coronarium	x	Crown daisy	0	All zones
Chrysanthemum crassum	x	none	0	na
Chrysanthemum frutescens	Argyranthemum frutescens	Marguerite, Paris Daisy	0	14-24, 26, 28
Chrysanthemum glabriusculum	x	none	0	na
Chrysanthemum hypargyrum	x	none	0	na
Chrysanthemum indicum	x	none	0	na
Chrysanthemum japonense	x	none	0	na
Chrysanthemum japonicum	x	none	0	na
Chrysanthemum lavandulifolium	x	none	0	na
Chrysanthemum leucanthemum	Leucanthemum vulgare	Ox-eye Daisy, Common Daisy	0	1-24, 28-43
Chrysanthemum mawii	x	none	0	na
Chrysanthemum maximowiczii	x	none	0	na
Chrysanthemum maximum	C. superbum, Leucanthemum maximum	Shasta Daisy	0	1-24, 26, 28-43
Chrysanthemum mongolicum	x	none	0	na
Chrysanthemum morifolium	Dendranthema grandiflorum	Florists' Chrysanthemum	0	2-24, 26, 28-41
Chrysanthemum morii	x	none	0	na
Chrysanthemum multicaule	Nipponanthemum nipponicum	none	0	2-24, 29-41
Chrysanthemum okiense	x	none	0	na
Chrysanthemum oreastrum	x	none	0	na
Chrysanthemum ornatum	x	none	0	na
Chrysanthemum pacificum	Pyrethrum marginatum, Dendranthema pacificum	Gold and Silver Chrys.	0	2-24, 28-41
Chrysanthemum paludosum	Leucanthemum paludosum	none	0	All (annual)
Chrysanthemum parthenium	Tanacetum parthenium	Feverfew	0	1-24, 28-45
Chrysanthemum potentilloides	x	none	0	na
Chrysanthemum ptarmiciflorum	Tanacetum ptarmiciflorum	Dusty Miller, Silver Lace	0	16, 17, 19-24 (all as annual)
Chrysanthemum rubellum	Dendranthema zawadskii	none	0	1-24, 28-43
Chrysanthemum segetum	x	none	0	na
Chrysanthemum serotinum	C. uliginosum	none	0	2-9, 14, 28-43
Chrysanthemum shiwogiku	x	none	0	na
Chrysanthemum sinuatum	x	none	0	na
Chrysanthemum vestitum	x	none	0	na
Chrysanthemum weyrichii	Dendranthema weyrichii	none	0	2-6, 32, 34-41
Chrysanthemum yoshinaganthum	x	none	0	na
Chrysanthemum zawadskii	x	none	0	na

Gallery

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  A cluster of chrysanthemums

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  A cluster of chrysanthemums

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References

• w:Chrysanthemum. Some of the material on this page may be from Wikipedia, under the Creative Commons license.
• Chrysanthemum QR Code (Size 50, 100, 200, 500)