The wide variety of plants in the Chrysanthemum genus share one quality: all are long lasting when cut. In addition, most have a pleasing fraqrance. The late blooming hardy or florists' chrysanthemums are among the most varied, dependable and useful of all perennials. Older types bloomed so late in the fall that frost often came before some of the buds opened; today this defect has been eliminated. New handsome varieties come into flower as early as August. Colors include white and many shades of yellow, pink, lavender, red and bronze; many blossoms combine more than one color, and on some the second color appears on the backs of the petals. These varieties offer a number of different flower types and two plant shapes. Upright plants have stiff stalks rising 1 to 3 feet tall from clumps of foliage. Cushion types grow only 9 to 15 inches tall but may spread to 30 inches across; they bear so many small, short stemmed flowers that the foliage is usually hidden. Pot-grown chrysanthemums obtained from florists can be planted in the garden and are most likely to grow successfully if they are smll-flowered types; most large-flowered varieties bloom late and their buds may be killed by frost. Florists' chrysanthemums often have been treated to maintain earlier bloom and smaller size, but these plants usually will revert to their normal habits the next season in the garden.
All chrysanthemums do best in full sun, and all need soil that has been thoroughly cultivated and enriched with organic material such as compost, leaf mold, or cow manure. The plants require ample watering during the growing season and good drainage while they are dormant in winter. Space plants 12 to 24 inches apart, depending on their size and variety. Hardy chrysanthemums require more care than most perennials because best results are secured when plants are reset each year. Start by buying growing plants for your garden. When they become 6 to 8 inches tall, feed them with 5-10-5 fertilizer every week to ten days until the buds start showing color, then discontinue. To make hardy chrysanthemums of the upright type busier and sturdy enough to eliminate the need for staking, pinch off the tops of the stems; cushion chrysanthemums, which form many stems by themselves, do not need to be pinched off. Start pinching off when the plants are about 6 inches tall and repeat the process until early summer every time the stem makes 6 to 8 inches of growth. Dig up one or more plants of each variety of hardy chrysanthemum in fall, each with its own clup of soil and set them in a cold frame; place each variety in a separate flat or shallow box and label it. Put a light mulch over the plants after the soil freezes. To propagate new plants from those saved in the cold frame, cut off as many stolens, or underground stems, as you desire. The stolons, lighter in color than the rest of the roots, spread out at the base of the plants and are tipped with small new leaves. Only one stolen is needed to make a full-sized plant by fall. If more plants are needed, take cuttings in late spring from the new plants started from the freshly planted stolons; the stem cuttings root readily. Hardy chrysanthemums lose their vigor after one year of flowering, producing smaller and fewer blooms, so discard the clumps after removing the stolons and stem cutting for new plants.
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8/3/00. My neighbor gave these (along with some others) to me after she thinned her chrysanthemum bed.
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8/3/00. OK, they're in a pot to see if they'll live. Fingers are crossed.
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8/20/00. 'Cheryl' is one of three hardy mums I bought to plant in a container and then overwinter for planting in the garden next spring.
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8/20/00. 'Goldcrest' hardy chrysanthemum.
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8/20/00. 'Marilyn' hardy chrysanthemum.
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8/21/00. My neighbor's mum did great in the pot and has been planted in the new street bed.
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8/24/00. Almost fully open. Pretty color.
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8/27/00. New mums in planter.
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