Chrysanthemums, I think, are up there with one of the most well known and loved flowers, even to those who claim to never set a foot into the gardening world. A clear favourite to florists for their array of colours and flower heads from the showy incurved to the understated single, it is a challenge to find a bouquet without a stem in. In my garden I have a group of 6 Chrysanthemum stems, which I was given when I left college. I had been asked to pot up the plants when they were about 6-8in and 'pinch out' half of the selection to create sprays (taking the terminal bud out, down to about 3-4 leaves from the base of the plant) and leave the others to produce single blooms. Unfortunately the cultivar is unbeknown to me but after some book reading, I have found that in my collection it appears I have 2 cultivars, one similar to (if not) that of 'Peach Margaret' (light salmon colour) and the other similar to 'Roblush' (white pink colour) both producing reflexed flower heads.
They provide the garden with that little flush of colour and gentle charm that is hard to come by at this time of year, usually flowering from September to October, they do require a staking properly and the wind this year has done my wonky stems no favours. Once they have finished flowering, the safest bet is to cut them down to a rootstock, lift and overwinter, ready to plant out again next spring/summer. I have such an abundance of flowers from my plants that I have cut a few stems off and brought them indoors for a small display inside as well, which they will still continue flowering for at least a couple of weeks. They make lovely companions with Dahlias for autumn planting, giving any garden a last surge of energy just before they quieten down completely.
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