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  • Chrysanthemums

    I planted six mixed chrysanthemums that I bought from Morrisons in the spring. The idea was to give me some cut flowers for late summer or autumn.

    The plants look very healthy and were stopped before I bought them, giving four to five main stems per plant

    They are approximately 18" tall but have no sign of flowers. Have I bought late flowering chrysanthemums by mistake?

    Years ago, I used to grow late flowering chrysanths in pots to put into my greenhouse after the tomato plants were out but I have put these into my allotment beds thinking they were early flowering

    Any feedback would be appreciated
    My Majesty made for him a garden anew in order
    to present to him vegetables and all beautiful flowers.- Offerings of Thutmose III to Amon-Ra (1500 BCE)

    Diversify & prosper



  • #2
    Woundn't have thought so Snadger, you say they were stopped before you bought them though thats the strange bit. Most of my sprays are stopped around the 20th May give or take a few days & I'd expect them to be flowering any time now. I've some cushion mums that I've got in pots that I was hoping to have in flower in the next week or so but as yet they haven't done anything. They could be October flowering varieties something like the Margaret family & they only grow about 2' ish with me.

    If they turn out to be late varieties of sprays all is not lost you can still save the stools & take cuttings next year but if you cover them with black plastic for 3 weeks for 12 hours a day you'll have flowers I know as I've got 30 in my greenhouse at the moment

    The ones you've got will still flower outside & the colour will be better as they are cooler If you can rig a temporary cover over them it would be good.
    ntg
    Never be afraid to try something new.
    Remember that a lone amateur built the Ark.
    A large group of professionals built the Titanic
    ==================================================

    Comment


    • #3
      Many thanks ntg, I think I'll wait a bit until frost is iminent and if there is no movement by then I will rig up a temporary cover with canes and plastic sheeting. Cheers

      PS I thought it was strange that they had been stopped when I bought them, it even crossed my mind that someone in the shop had nipped them off or someone had done it out of spite!
      My Majesty made for him a garden anew in order
      to present to him vegetables and all beautiful flowers.- Offerings of Thutmose III to Amon-Ra (1500 BCE)

      Diversify & prosper


      Comment


      • #4
        What you could do Snadger is dig them up with a big root ball & pot them up & move into the greenhouse come October time. My dad used to do that mind you, you need some Bl**dy big pots sometimes
        ntg
        Never be afraid to try something new.
        Remember that a lone amateur built the Ark.
        A large group of professionals built the Titanic
        ==================================================

        Comment


        • #5
          My Chrysanthemums are just in bud, can't wait for them to flower as I haven't grown them before. Spectacular height at 2 metres - never grown a flower as tall as that here. I prepared a bed for cut flowers this year and I think it is very sheltered, unlike the rest of the garden.

          Nick - what is the stool? Sorry to ask a silly question!
          ~
          Aerodynamically the bumblebee shouldn't be able to fly, but the bumblebee doesn't know that so it goes on flying anyway.
          ~ Mary Kay Ash

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          • #6
            Not silly at all JA.

            The stool is the root system after it has flowered and that you dig up. You trim the roots back & pot it up in frest compost & then give it some heat &water and it throws new shoots from underground (stollons I think thy're called) these are what you take cuttings off. they look sort of like this,

            Click image for larger version

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            ntg
            Never be afraid to try something new.
            Remember that a lone amateur built the Ark.
            A large group of professionals built the Titanic
            ==================================================

            Comment


            • #7
              All is not lost as I think I spy some flower buds!
              My Majesty made for him a garden anew in order
              to present to him vegetables and all beautiful flowers.- Offerings of Thutmose III to Amon-Ra (1500 BCE)

              Diversify & prosper


              Comment


              • #8
                Originally posted by JennieAtkinson View Post
                My Chrysanthemums are just in bud, can't wait for them to flower as I haven't grown them before. Spectacular height at 2 metres - never grown a flower as tall as that here. I prepared a bed for cut flowers this year and I think it is very sheltered, unlike the rest of the garden.

                Nick - what is the stool? Sorry to ask a silly question!
                Is 2 metres normal for chrysanths?

                Hope you have some deep vases! Lol
                My Majesty made for him a garden anew in order
                to present to him vegetables and all beautiful flowers.- Offerings of Thutmose III to Amon-Ra (1500 BCE)

                Diversify & prosper


                Comment


                • #9
                  Just wondering, can the time you take cuttings or stop them affect their flowering time?
                  My Majesty made for him a garden anew in order
                  to present to him vegetables and all beautiful flowers.- Offerings of Thutmose III to Amon-Ra (1500 BCE)

                  Diversify & prosper


                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Yes it does Snadger. Roughly with spray chrysanths I stop them around the 15th May to get them to flower around now for the local shows if I'm showing them. Other factors affect them as well, temperature, feeding & daylength.

                    As to timing the cuttings, rather than stopping them (which can increase the flowering height by around 12") what you can do is take what are called mother plants early on in the year & these are kept growing with feed etc & every time they get 4 pairs of leaves the top is taken out (you can let them get to 6 leaves & root hte top for extra plants) then you do your final stop 1 month before you want your cutting. Then you take the final cuttings around 2 weeks before the normal stopping date & flower them straight up (no further stops).

                    For example. Cassandra is a pink incurving flower for christmas. Normal stopping date is the 25th July normal flowering height 6ft+!!!.

                    I took the cuttings around the 2nd feb & kept pinching the tops till the 10th june (final stop).

                    Cuttings taken for rooting 11th July & should flower for Chrismas at around 4ft high

                    I use the same principle for my late spray chrysanths but these have to be blacked out for 12hrs a day for 3 weeks ish to fool them into thinking it's later in the year than it is (see below).



                    & these will finish up like these in November.

                    Click image for larger version

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                    Attached Files
                    Last edited by nick the grief; 01-09-2006, 09:55 PM.
                    ntg
                    Never be afraid to try something new.
                    Remember that a lone amateur built the Ark.
                    A large group of professionals built the Titanic
                    ==================================================

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Wow Nick.... that's a fair amount of cuttings you have there!!
                      Shortie

                      "There are only two lasting bequests we can hope to give our children; one of these is roots, the other wings" - Hodding Carter

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                      • #12
                        30. 6 each of 5 varieties. Then ther are the ones for Christmas on the other side of the greenhouse
                        ntg
                        Never be afraid to try something new.
                        Remember that a lone amateur built the Ark.
                        A large group of professionals built the Titanic
                        ==================================================

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          I have taken Chrysanth cuttings before directly from the stools...but correct me if I am wrong...you are saying you grow the plant on by nipping out the top until it is the RIGHT time to take cuttings for when you want them to flower? I presume you would then use the side shoots for cuttings. If you wanted a continuity of flowers you would use the piece you stopped as a cutting each time, or does this sound gobbledegook to you? Can you recommend a book (not too technical please) as I find this subject facinating!

                          Cheers Nick
                          My Majesty made for him a garden anew in order
                          to present to him vegetables and all beautiful flowers.- Offerings of Thutmose III to Amon-Ra (1500 BCE)

                          Diversify & prosper


                          Comment


                          • #14
                            Nick...
                            Those look really good! Well done u!!
                            "Nicos, Queen of Gooooogle" and... GYO's own Miss Marple

                            Location....Normandy France

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                            • #15
                              Basically all you are doing is delaying the time you take your cutting. The growing tip (meristem) has a sort of memory & it takes into account the age of the bit you took the cutting off (very simply)

                              As to books, The National Chrysanthemum society do a couple. one called
                              Chrysanthemum Guide - all you need to know about growing for hte garden, greenhouse & exhibition

                              And a new one written by a Dr Barry Machin called "Understanding CHrysanthemums" (I think - It's only just been published). Barry wrote a couple of Growers Guides (check Amazon for them) aimed at the commercial cut flower & Pot mum production, both are very readable & Barry is an extremely knowegable and approachable person who is more than happy to answer yuor queries if you write to him.
                              ntg
                              Never be afraid to try something new.
                              Remember that a lone amateur built the Ark.
                              A large group of professionals built the Titanic
                              ==================================================

                              Comment

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