How should a newly bought chrysanthemum be repotted?

There are many varieties of chrysanthemums with rich colors, and they all bloom so brilliantly that even when grown as potted plants, their ornamental value is very high. Growing chrysanthemums as household potted plants also has many benefits: besides being enjoyed for their beauty, the flowers can be harvested for chrysanthemum tea, and they can also be used for dietary therapy, as medicine to treat illnesses, and so on. The flowering period of chrysanthemums is usually in autumn, and many gardening friends like to buy them and bring them home to grow before they bloom.

But chrysanthemums bought from the flower market usually come in very ugly original pots, and these pots are not suitable for the chrysanthemums to grow in for a long time. So many gardening friends, as soon as they get the chrysanthemum, can't wait to repot it, but not long after, they find the plant showing various adverse symptoms of one kind or another. Could it be that our repotting method was improper?

In fact, a newly bought chrysanthemum is not suitable for repotting, whether before flowering or at other times of the year; it should not be repotted immediately. This is because when the chrysanthemum arrives at our home from the seller, its growing environment has changed, and the plant needs several days of acclimatization to adapt to the new growing environment. If we rashly repot it at this time, the plant often struggles to settle into the new pot, which leads to various poor-growth symptoms.

For a newly bought chrysanthemum, not only should we not rush to repot it, but even operations like watering and fertilizing are not suitable. After all, during the acclimatization period, its root system has not resumed normal growth, and watering and fertilizing will instead work against its acclimatization. Therefore, we only need to place it in a bright, ventilated spot with scattered light for care; during this period, at most we can mist it a little to maintain humidity, and it does not require us to do much care and management.

If it happens to be the flowering period, to avoid affecting its blooming, it is recommended to double-pot it a few days after acclimatization. If the chrysanthemum is about to bloom next, then we can appropriately increase watering a little, keeping the potting soil moist as a rule. And if the plant's flowering period is about to end at this time, we also need to control watering in time, keeping the potting soil slightly on the dry side, which both helps extend its flowering period and improves its ability to resist cold and frost afterward.

If repotting is needed, it usually should wait until after the plant finishes flowering in late autumn. At this time we can combine it with post-bloom pruning, because after flowering it will also enter dormancy, making it more suitable for repotting. But considering that the temperature also drops accordingly, it is recommended to repot with plenty of the original soil, and you may even leave the original soil undisturbed: simply take it out of the pot and plant the whole plant together with the original soil into a larger flower pot, then fill in soft, breathable new potting soil around the plant.