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When is it best to buy chrysanthemums?

A chrysanthemum is a typical autumn plant and is therefore only available in shops for a limited period during the year. These colourful autumn plants are usually available during the months of September and October. However depending on the country you live in, you may be able to buy a colourful ball-shaped chrysanthemum as early as August.

Are chrysanthemums winter hardy?

Ball-shaped chrysanthemums don’t like freezing weather. When frosty weather conditions are predicted, it’s best to keep your colourful ball-shaped chrysanthemum indoors for the night or put your plant in a sheltered place so that it is protected from freezing weather.

How to look after chrysanthemums?

Ball-shaped chrysanthemums like plenty of light. Therefore, you should choose a place where your plant can enjoy the sunlight and you should avoid places where there is only shade. Don’t give your ball-shaped chrysanthemum too much water. Your Mum Flowers plant is quite drought tolerant, providing that it doesn’t last too long. Water your plant once or twice a week. In normal conditions, this should be sufficient. A chrysanthemum does not like to have wet feet. It’s best to pour away any excess water in the flowerpot. Apart from that, a chrysanthemum has very few specific requirements. If you take good care of it, you will be able to enjoy your colourful autumn plant for 4 to 6 weeks.

How to sow chrysanthemums?

You don’t sow chrysanthemums. A chrysanthemum is cultivated from a cutting, that is planted in potting soil where it grows into a colourful and bright ball-shaped chrysanthemum.

Can chrysanthemums be used to make tea?

In theory, you could make a perfect chrysanthemum tea. HOWEVER, not any kind of chrysanthemum plant can be used to make tea. During cultivation, plants are very often sprayed with chemicals, that are not meant to be used for human consumption. Therefore, you should definitely not dry flowers from plants you have bought from a flower shop or garden centre to make tea. But as long as plants have been grown without the use of such chemicals, then it is certainly possible to make a nice tea from these autumn flowers.

How much water do chrysanthemums need?

Mum Flowers plants are not very demanding and they can stand dryness quite well. We recommend you water your Mum Flowers plant once or twice a week. Make sure no excessive water remains in the flowerpot because our colourful autumn plants don’t like to have wet feet. However, should there be any water left in the pot, drain it off.

Why do we put chrysanthemums on graves on All Saints’ Day?

Chrysanthemums are an ancient plant species. Originally, ball-shaped chrysanthemums had a golden yellow colour to which they owe their name.  In Greek, ‘chryso’ means ‘gold’ and ‘anthemom’ means ‘flower’. In China, chrysanthemums are traditionally believed to be sacred flowers. In the 18th century, the plant species made its appearance in our regions. This colourful autumn plant is now available in a wide range of colours. Due to the fact that they are autumn flowers and have a very long shelf life, they are the ideal plant to put on gravestones on 1 November. In Belgium, the plant is more or less associated with death, but in Asia, this colourful ball-shaped flower symbolises happiness, long life and health. In fact, by putting chrysanthemums on the graves, we wish our dear deceased an eternal life.

Thanks to its beautiful colours and long shelf life, the ball-shaped chrysanthemum is also being used more and more as a decorative feature on the terrace and at the front entrance.

Do chrysanthemums need additional fertilizers?

Chrysanthemums might contain substances that could be harmful to pets. The fact is that for most pets a Additional fertilizers are not necessary.  A Belgian Mum plant has enough Mum power and sufficient backup fertilizer is present in order to allow the plant to flower over a long period.

(How) do I pinch my chrysanthemums?

Actually, a Mum Flowers plant doesn’t need to be pinched.  The genetics of the plant ensure that this is not needed because the plant forms a nice beautiful ball shape on its own.

When you buy a Mum Flowers plant in a shop, you basically don’t need to pinch your plant. Pinching  is only done during the growing process. If you have bought a ball-shaped chrysanthemum in a shop, all you need to do is water the plant and occasionally remove the faded flowers or rotten leaves.

After your plant has finished flowering, don’t throw it away. Simply cut the plant back to the base. New shoots will soon appear. These shoots can then be used again. If you have taken a shoot, also called a cutting, from your pruned plant, you can then grow it into a new plant. Pot your rooted cutting in spring. Until after the summer, the chrysanthemum will continue to flower, as it requires a long period of time before it comes into flowering naturally.

The cutting will start to grow. If it gets a bit too long, start pinching by removing the growth point (the top of the plant) along with some leaves to quickly encourage further branching. Repeat this a few times. From mid-July onwards, just leave your plant to do its own thing. As autumn arrives, an abundance of flowers will appear.

Are chrysanthemums perennials?

A perennial plant is a plant that lives for more than two years and that can flower more than once during its lifetime.

Actually, a chrysanthemum is not a perennial plant. However, we have noticed that with climate change, our winters are becoming milder and we hardly ever experience severe frosts. So, if you manage to protect your plant from frost it is perfectly possible for your ball-shaped chrysanthemum to survive the winter.