Hardy Chrysanthemums: A Guide to Cultivating Vibrant Autumnal Blooms and Continued Color
In the world of gardening, perceptions surrounding hardy chrysanthemums have evolved significantly over the past few decades. Once viewed primarily as traditional, somewhat old-fashioned garden flowers, these vibrant blooms are now being recognised for their garden utility, climate adaptability, and design suitability.
Chrysanthemums, with their bright, showy blooms, have long been cherished for their ability to bring late-season colour to gardens. However, contemporary garden design trends favour plants that offer structure, texture, drought tolerance, and year-round interest. This shift away from chrysanthemums towards plants with more architectural qualities or native, drought-resistant species, such as ornamental grasses, agaves, and sedums, is part of an effort to conserve resources and align with modern aesthetics.
Some gardeners, seeking lower-maintenance or more climate-resilient options, have also begun to view chrysanthemums as less hardy or too ostentatious compared to other perennials. Despite their adaptability to various climates, including hot conditions, and their widespread cultivation globally, they may be considered less suitable by some in sustainable or minimalist garden approaches.
However, the chrysanthemum's place in the autumn garden has been re-established in the past 20 years. A variety of new cultivars, such as 'Brennpunkt' with its glorious, almost dahlia-like blooms of blood red, 'Jolie Rose' with its semi-double pink blooms and white halo, 'Coup de Soleil' with its bronzy orange flowers, 'Granatapfel' with its intense red, edged with golden yellow, and 'Dixter Orange' with its persistent, rusty orange blooms, are just a few examples of the vibrant and diverse range of chrysanthemums available.
Mature plants in flower can be found at garden centres in late summer and early autumn, while rooted cuttings or young plants become available in spring, often online or via mail order. 'Bronze Elegance', a sport of the pink Chrysanthemum 'Mei-Kyo' with complex, bronze pompoms, and 'Dernier Soleil', an old French cultivar with soft apricot-orange petals fading to a warm yellow heart, are other noteworthy additions to this colourful family.
'Poesie', a creamy-white chrysanthemum, has helped reignite interest in hardy chrysanthemums. These chrysanthemums are well suited to a sunny border, but they prefer not to sit wet during the winter and resent drying out in the summer. After planting, it is recommended to mulch with well-rotted compost or manure. Once the plant has finished flowering in late autumn, the whole plant can be cut down to 20cm from the base.
The legacy of hardy chrysanthemums extends back to the inter-war years, with master nurseryman Amos Perry developing many celebrated cultivars. Today, these resilient, colourful blooms continue to captivate gardeners, offering a fresh and vibrant addition to contemporary gardens.
Chrysanthemums, known for their vibrant and diverse range of blooms, have been reinventing their image in contemporary gardens, now recognized for their garden utility, climate adaptability, and design suitability. Despite previous opinions of them being traditional and old-fashioned, new cultivars like 'Poesie' and 'Bronze Elegance' have rekindled interest in these hardy flowers. To complement modern landscapes, these perennials can be cultivated in home-and-garden settings or gardens, adding a splash of colour to a sunny border and harmonizing with current gardening trends that focus on sustainability and varieties offering structure, texture, drought tolerance, and year-round interest.
