After an absence, a post on IAVOM from me, in haste. I simply cannot get the hang of chrysanthemums. This year is my best year yet inasmuch as I did get some blooms at last, but these were on the end of rampant, tangled stems – I planted the plants in the greenhouse border and lost interest in all that pinching out and disbudding, as mentioned yesterday. This rather clashing collection represents all the blooms left languishing in the greenhouse, which has now been cleared and restocked with all the tender plants brought in from the garden against tonight’s forecast cold snap. The chrysanthemum crowns have been tamed and potted up – I’ll try again next year. Try again. Fail again. Fail better!
Thanks as always to Cathy for hosting IAVOM. Pop over to her site to see what’s in her vase and everyone else’s this week: https://ramblinginthegarden.wordpress.com
Notes from the Under-Gardener 
I must go and read your post from yesterday, Arwen, about the disbudding, etc, as I still lack the enthusiasm to pay attention to any chrysanths I have. Yours are lovely, especially the spidery yellows and the green ones. I am going to continue trying though, so thanks for sharing yours and giving me something to think about!
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Thanks Cathy. I wish I could claim to know what I’m doing with the disbudding etc. I am sure there were good instructions in one of my Sarah Raven books, if I can find them I’ll email you a pic of whatever Ms Raven advises! (I think she might be Dr Raven actually, I’m sure she is/was a GP..)
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Yes, she certainly has a previous medical string to her bow – I’m sure it’s not where she earned the money for her vast plot though!! Even with disbudding I doubt any chrysanthemum plant will ever look attractive… 🙄
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I really only wanted to grow them for extending the season on something that could be cut for the house. Some of the hardy ones might make more tolerable border plants. Annoyingly I didn’t realise I’d selected only late varieties and they’d need glass cover to come to anything!
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Certainly good for late colour, but a shame they all required cover. My two fantasy ones are in pots and I keep them outside over summer, but I am going to get some hardy ones and keep them in pots too, somehwere out of the way until flowering time
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I’d be thrilled to have a collection of chrysanthemums like that in my garden! The plants really don’t like my climate. I hope you’re able to work out the kinks in growing them in future years as they’ve lovely fall flowers.
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Thanks Kris!
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Well you’re not certainly doing badly in the chrysanthemum department to put together such an attractive vase 😂 I always struggle with them except for two that flourished when I had an allotment plot. Do you know the name of the green flowered variety?
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Thanks Anna! It’s good to know I’m not the only one who finds them difficult! The green one is “Froggy” and it’s the most unco-operative one of the lot! 😂
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I like the green ones, too and just planted some Envy Zinnias. A nearby town used to be the Chrysanthemum capital of the US, but they went out of business!!
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I can’t get Envy to grow for me at all. With a few exceptions (like hellebores) I suppose most green flowers are cultivated from sports or something and I find them much less robust and more prone to failure than more common colours… I wonder if the Chrysanthemum town had problems with keeping their chrysanths going?!
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hmm, I finally started growing zinnia seeds in the sun and haven’t had any more trouble with them. I can grow them almost year round. I think the man who owned the Chrysanthemum farm died and that was the end of it.
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The green ones are really striking. They all make for a lovely November vase!
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Thanks Cathy. I must remind myself that having any flowers at all that can be cut in Wales in late November is something of an achievement in itself! 😊
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Well I wouldn’t grow them and I’m not keen on the smell, but I think your vase looks lovely.
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Funnily enough I really like the smell but it’s very strong, I can definitely understand someone disliking it!
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