Cutting and Arranging Chrysanthemums

Naomi Slade’s sixth title in Gibbs Smith’s Beautiful Varieties floral series celebrates the chrysanthemum. As it did in her earlier volumes, Hydrangeas, Dahlias, Lilacs, Lilies, and Ranunculus, Slade’s experience as a biologist and naturalist brings a fresh appreciation to the mum in all its fascinating varieties, forms, and colors. Photography from Georgianna Lane beautifully captures the blossoms and plants in the garden and vase. In the following excerpts from Chrysanthemums: Beautiful Varieties for Home and Garden, Naomi shares her tips for cutting and arranging chrysanthemum flowers and for growing mums in the home garden.   

Chrysanthemums as Cut Flowers

 Chrysanthemums are one of the best-known cut flowers in the world. Even when they are perceived as unfashionable, there is no doubt that they excel in arrangements and they can often last at least two weeks in water.

Ideally, harvest flowers first thing in the morning, when the air is cool and the cells of the plant are plump and turgid. Choose blooms which are expanding and showing some color,or in the case of spray chrysanthemums, when around one in four flowers is open. Cut the stems long, plunging them straight into a bucket of clean, cold water, and when you have finished, trim the stalks again, under water. Then put the bucket of flowers somewhere cool and shady so they can have a drink and recover, leaving them for several hours or overnight.

The technique is then the same for both shop-bought and home-grown blooms. Strip off surplus lower leaves which can compete with the flower for water, and cut the stems at a 45-degree angle, ideally under water to stop air bubbles forming. Then arrange in a vase with a few drops of white vinegar or bleach to slow bacterial growth and make the flowers last longer. Change the water and add a fresh dash of vinegar every three to four days, or as necessary, trimming the stems each time and discarding anythat are looking tired.

Whether in single-variety bunches orcombined with other seasonal flowers andfoliage, chrysanthemums have impact. Theyalso work well displayed as a series of stems inindividual bottles, where they will benefit froma lack of crowding and plenty of ventilation. Aswith all cut flowers, they will last best if kept ina cool place, out of direct sunlight and awayfrom drafts and hot radiators.

Designing with Chrysanthemums

For all their abundance in floristry, the revival of chrysanthemums as a garden plant is long overdue. Amongst perennials, almost nothing else will start flowering at the end of summer and potentially keep going until the earliest spring bulbs poke up their noses. And very little else will provide the range and intensity of color, either.

To get the most out of chrysanthemums outdoors, make sure that the plants get what they need in terms of sunshine and drainage, then use them as you wish. The more compact varieties and those plants which form mounds and cushions are known for making good pot plants, so use them in containers either by themselves or combined with other flowers, such as geraniums or lobelia, or with foliage such as heuchera, tiarella or ivy. They also look well with grasses, or even small shrubs.

In areas with higher rainfall or on heavy soil, consider chrysanthemums in raised beds. These provide good drainage and allow the moisture-sensitive cultivars to flower for longer, despite winter wet, while the plants can be encouraged to sprawl and cascade over the side in a gay waterfall of bloom. Unless the location is fairly sheltered, however, it is wise to choose reliably cold-tolerant varieties, since a raised bed is essentially just a large container and the elevated position can increase exposure to frost.

In the open border, chrysanthemums lookfantastic when woven through other seasonalplants, taking their place alongside salvias,cannas, dahlias and ginger lilies or baskingin front of a warm wall covered in roses androsehips. Bold, bright varieties can be used toprovide a vibrant counterpoint to grasses, andthey can be interspersed with annual sunflowersand tagetes to create a flaming autumn display.The more subtle, creamy hues can also beteamed with the white trumpets of nicotiana andother light-colored flowers.

For something a bit more unexpected, allow the tallest and leggiest chrysanthemum cultivars to scramble up an obelisk, tying in as required, where they act as a surprisingly effective late-season alternative to a small-flowered clematis.