Growing Chrysanthemum Flowers
Chrysanthemums: Nothing Beats Mums' Classic and Exquisite Beauty
If you naturally love flowers, Chrysanthemum flowers might have been or still one of your favorites. Amidst the tons of choices of flowers people have been blessed with by Mother Nature, ‘mums can really stand out.
Well, it is not too surprising at all as Chrysanthemums possess the right blend of beauty and elegance as well. Evident to this is the fact that if not all, most of the flower shops have this kind of flower in their place.
Aside from it being one of the most commonly seen flowers in almost all occasions, Chrysanthemums belong to the largest flowering plants family which is called ‘Asteraceae family’. This flowering plants family has around 20,000 species. Isn’t that amazing?
Chrysanthemums are most popularly known as ‘Mums’. This amazing flower can grow from 50-150 cm tall. Its leaves are deeply lobed with a gigantic flower heads.
If you are looking for a flower that has the most amazing colors, then you’ve got to go with Mums as you will definitely feel ecstatic just by looking at a bunch these colorful Chrysanthemums. Including as the most common colors of Mums are yellow, pink, reddish and white.
This colorful flower can be categorized into two basic groups namely Exhibition and Garden Hardy. The Garden Hardies can withstand more wind than those Exhibition varieties. Hence, you can find these varieties of Mums in the Northern latitudes. The good thing about Exhibition varieties is that you can make lots of amazing plant forms from it which may include hanging baskets and Bonsai.
Aside from its ornamental uses, Mums are also being used in the culinary. Specific chrysanthemum specie is being used in Asia to make a sugary drink which is popularly known as Chrysanthemum tea. It can also be used as an insecticide and it has its fair share of medicinal uses. Most importantly, plants has been proven to help in reducing indoor Air pollution according to the NASA Clean Air Study.
Chrysanthemums Propagation
There are a lot of options to choose from when it comes to its propagation. As a matter of fact, Mums are one of the most flexible flowering plants when it you talk about propagation. Hence, it became one of the most popular flowers today. One way is to propagate it from seeds. You can also try to divide established plants. But of course, you must go with the easiest and most effective way which is by means of cuttings.
How to Grow Chrysanthemums
Fortunately for those who are naturally fond of Mums, they are very easy and trouble-free to grow. Unlike other flowering plants that have tons of requirements for them to grow and blossom to its best guise, Chrysanthemums have only few wishes and trust that they will allow you to gaze at their best full grown look. One is to place them where there is an ample amount of sun and two is to use a well-draining soil when planting. Lastly, you have to give few amounts of your time to give them enough water.
Caring for Chrysanthemums
Caring for flowers is similar to caring for your loved ones. You have to understand them well and know their needs to keep them alive, healthy and beautiful all year round. The biggest threat for Mums would be the winter season because they can definitely be killed by the hard frost or by frost heaving. You can do something about this problem and help your Mums survive by creating a basic drainage trench along its side. But if you’re still not sure about this saving your Mums, you can always put them in a pot for some time until the danger of climate is over.
Chrysanthemums Pests and Diseases
Common diseases that afflict Chrysanthemums are:
- Fungal disease – rust sand leaf spot (Septoria), mildew, and root rot.
Solution: spray with sulfur fungicide
- Leaf Nematode infestation
Solution: destroy diseased stools and grow new plants from top cuttings
- Verticillium Wilt
No known remedy
Common pests that afflict Chrysanthemums are: Leaf rollers, Asiatic beetles, rotenone, cut worms, and caterpillars.
