Annual Chrysanthemums

2024 Author: Sebastian Paterson | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 13:47

Grow beautiful flowers that delight flower growers before winter

On the eve I fell asleep under the monotonous roll of rain on the roof. The rain stopped at night - silence reigned. It seemed that the plans built the day before would come true: before lunchtime the earth would dry out a little, and it would be possible to dig the last beds before winter. But when I went out on the porch in the morning, I realized: today you can rest - at night the rain was replaced by snow.

Snow lay all around: both on the desert beds, and on the barberry bushes, which had not completely lost their leaves, and on the grass that was not yet cleaned. From this, the snow cover bulged, it seemed somehow crumpled. It was as if winter was in a hurry: she threw over the ground a dazzling white, fresh, smelling of ozone, but still wet, not ironed. And she will have enough time to iron it out with blizzards until spring.

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What else is this in the flower garden? Where did these waist-deep drifts come from? This snow covered the bushes of chrysanthemums. All the flowers have long been removed, and the chrysanthemums all bloomed and bloomed, and it was a pity to pull out the flowering plants. There is time, why not talk about these amazing colors.

No, these are not perennial chrysanthemums, as many might think. There is a lot of trouble with them: for the winter you need to dig out or carefully cover them, they bloom very late. I grow others - annual chrysanthemums. These are unpretentious, cold-resistant, fast-growing and long-flowering plants.

The name of the genus Chrysanthemum is derived from the Greek words "gold" and "flower". Sometimes they are also called "golden flower", and in pre-war and post-war catalogs these plants can be found under the outdated name "kryzhant", in which the abbreviated "chrysanthemum" is clearly heard. There are about 150 species of them in the world. In floriculture, there are four of the most decorative types.

Chrysanthemum (Chrysanthemum spectabile). Bushes about 50 cm high with graceful foliage arrangement. Inflorescences are large (5-6 cm in diameter), terry, with a strongly convex receptacle, either pure white or pure yellow. They bloom for a very long time. They are especially good in cutting - it is not for nothing that this species is called - bouquet chrysanthemum.

Sowing chrysanthemum (Chrysanthemum segetum). Strongly branched bushes are covered with large flowers with lemon petals and a contrasting dark brown center.

Chrysanthemum scaphoid (Chrysanthemum carinatum). The name comes from an unusual type of seed, similar to a boat (boat) with a keel, therefore it is also called keeled. The inflorescences of this species are the most colorful: reed petals with clear multi-colored rings are located around a flat dark red-brown disc. White, pink, red, burgundy, yellow, brown, orange rings on flowers form such varied variations that you cannot find two bushes with the same coloring. A blooming flower bed of navicular chrysanthemum is an absolutely enchanting sight. The height of the bushes is 60-70 cm. Straight and long peduncles also allow this species to be widely used for cutting.

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Crowned chrysanthemum (Chrysanthemum coronarium). The Latin name "coronarium" means "to decorate with a wreath" or "to crown with a wreath". It is also called wreath-shaped or crown.

Indeed, its numerous large double inflorescences, white, yellow or two-colored, give the impression of beautiful wreaths crowning highly branched, tall (more than a meter high) bushes.

This species is also notable for the fact that the leaves, which have a specific aroma and taste, are used for food, and therefore the crowned chrysanthemum is included in the group of vegetable chrysanthemums. It is widely cultivated in the countries of Southeast Asia, and in the USA it is grown under the Japanese name Shunguku. Chrysanthemum leaves topped with a rich content of vitamins (B1, B2, C, PP), carotene, macro- and microelements, minerals, proteins, simple and complex carbohydrates, biologically active substances. Leaves boiled in salted water are added to various salads, side dishes, soups, sauces for meat dishes.

All annual chrysanthemums can be sown directly into the ground in early May. They grow better on light, not waterlogged soils. Seedlings appear in 7-10 days; they can withstand frost. A distance of 30-40 cm (sowing, scaphoid) to 60 cm (crowned) is left between the plants. Plants develop quickly and bloom in early July. They bloom for a very long time - until the snow. The seeds are tied abundantly. They are collected at several times as the baskets turn brown. It happens that you are late with harvesting, then self-seeding occurs.

Gennady Anisimov, experienced gardener

Read also about chrysanthemums:

• Chrysanthemum - Japan's favorite flower

• Chrysanthemum - growing in an apartment

• Maiden chrysanthemum and late chrysanthemum

• Autumn daisies