Chrysanthemum Planting Methods and Key Care Points Explained

The chrysanthemum is one of China's top ten famous flowers. Its blooms are delicate and beautiful without being vulgar, and it has long been loved by scholars and writers past and present. So how do we go about growing chrysanthemums at home?

Chrysanthemums are mainly grown in two ways: from seed and from cuttings.

1. Growing from Seed

1. Before planting, first germinate the seeds to improve the germination rate. Generally, mix the seeds with moist sand, place them in the growing medium, and then cover with a layer of sandy soil about 1cm thick. Keep the temperature at around 10°C to 25°C, and spray water frequently to keep the soil moist. They will sprout in about 3 weeks.

2. Transplant the sprouted plants and set them into the soil. After planting, press the rooted seedlings into the soil, but be sure not to bury them too deep; keep them at around 3 to 4 cm. After watering, keep the temperature at around 20°C.

3. When the plant grows to 10-12cm, pinch off the growing tip for the first time; when 6 flower branches have grown, pinch off the growing tip a second time.

4. After planting, make sure the base fertilizer in the pot is sufficient. During the growing period, apply a nitrogen fertilizer about once every 10 days. After the Start of Autumn, during the bud stage, you can apply a strong liquid fertilizer once a week. After the flower buds have formed, you can give one top dressing of liquid fertilizer and then no more fertilizing is needed. It is best to spray a small amount of superphosphate once.

2. Growing from Cuttings

1. Choose a chrysanthemum plant with good growth, pick out a thick, sturdy branch and cut off about 10cm as the cutting, keep the leaves at the upper end, and remove the spent flowers and excess leaves. The lower end of the branch can be cut at a 45° slant.

3. Generally, choose soil that contains relatively more nutrients, or you can mix river sand, peat soil, perlite, etc. yourself to make a cutting medium. Keep the medium soil moist. Insert the selected branch and press the soil firm.

4. After pressing the branch firm, pour on a small amount of water, and also sprinkle water around the branch area, then place it in a ventilated and shady spot to root.

5. Once the leaf buds on the upper part have grown out, you can give it appropriate light, but do not expose it to direct strong light.

6. Once it has taken root and survived, you can transplant it.

That is a brief introduction to chrysanthemum growing methods, and I hope it can help friends who are interested in growing chrysanthemums.