Best Planting Time for Chrysanthemums, High-Yield Methods and Profit per Mu

The chrysanthemum is one of China's famous precious ornamental flowers, with very high ornamental value. It usually blooms in autumn and winter, which makes this variety much loved. So when is the best time to plant chrysanthemums? How should you plant them to achieve high yields? And how much profit is there per mu?

Planting Time for Chrysanthemums

Chrysanthemums can be propagated in two ways: vegetative propagation and seed propagation. Vegetative propagation includes cuttings, division, grafting, layering and tissue culture, and is usually done mainly by cuttings. If you choose to sow chrysanthemum seeds, it is best to do so in spring. Cuttings of chrysanthemums are best taken in spring and summer or in late autumn after flowering. Division is best done in late autumn after flowering. Root division transplanting of chrysanthemums should be done before May 15, while cutting transplanting of chrysanthemums should be done before June 16.

Propagation Methods for Chrysanthemums

1. Bud cuttings: In autumn and winter, cut off the outer basal shoots of the plant for cuttings. The standard for selecting buds is that they are relatively far from the plant and the buds are plump. After selecting the buds, strip off the lower leaves and insert them at a plant spacing of 3-4 cm and a row spacing of 4-5 cm into flower pots or coarse sand in a cutting bed inside a greenhouse or plastic tunnel, maintaining a room temperature of 7-8°C, and plant them outdoors after the weather warms up in spring.

2. Field cuttings: The medium for field cuttings can be garden soil mixed with 1/3 rice husk ash. Build a reed curtain shed on a high bed for shade. A fully exposed cutting bed with automatic misting equipment does not need shading.

3. Division: Division propagation of chrysanthemums is generally done around Qingming. Dig up the plant, separate it along the natural form of the roots while keeping the roots attached, and plant them separately in pots.

4. Grafting: Chrysanthemums can be grafted using Artemisia annua or Artemisia carvifolia as rootstock. Collect mugwort seeds in late autumn, sow them in a greenhouse in winter, or raise seedlings in a hotbed in March. In late April, when the seedlings are 3-4 cm tall, transplant them into pots or the field, and do the cleft grafting on a sunny day.

5. Seeds: Chrysanthemum seeds germinate slowly above 10°C, with an optimum temperature of 25°C. Sow thinly between February and April. Under normal conditions, most can bloom in the same year.

Cultivation Techniques for Chrysanthemums

1. Potting soil: For chrysanthemum cultivation, fertile sandy soil should be chosen. Use a small pot first and then a larger pot, repotting 2-3 times, and the pot can be finalized in July. For the final potting, a mixed soil can be made from 6 parts leaf mold, 3 parts sandy soil and 1 part cake fertilizer residue. After watering thoroughly, place it in a cool place, and move it to a sunny place once the plant is growing normally.

2. Watering: In spring, when chrysanthemum seedlings are small, water sparingly. In summer, when the seedlings have grown, water once in the early morning and again in the evening, and use a watering can to spray water on the chrysanthemum leaves, branches and the surrounding ground to increase environmental humidity. Before the Start of Autumn, water and fertilizer should be properly controlled to prevent the plant from shooting up and growing excessively. After the Start of Autumn and before flowering, increase the amount of watering and begin fertilizing, gradually making the fertilizer solution stronger. In winter, the flowering branches basically stop growing, the plant's water consumption decreases noticeably, and evaporation is also low, so watering must be strictly controlled.

3. Fertilizing: When transplanting chrysanthemum plants, sufficient base fertilizer should be applied in the pot. After that, apply nitrogen fertilizer once every 10 days. After the Start of Autumn, from bud differentiation to visible buds, apply a slightly stronger fertilizer solution once a week. When the buds are about to open, apply one more strong fertilizer solution and then pause fertilizing. If at this time you can apply superphosphate or a 0.1% potassium dihydrogen phosphate solution once to the chrysanthemums, the flowers can bloom more brightly.

4. Pinching: When the chrysanthemum plant grows to more than 10 cm tall, begin pinching. When pinching, keep only 4-5 leaves at the base of the plant and remove all the upper leaves. When 5-6 new leaves have grown, pinch out the growing tip again, keeping 4-7 main branches on the plant, and promptly remove branches and buds that grow later. Pinching can cause the plant to branch and effectively control plant height and shape. At the final pinching, carry out shaping pruning on the chrysanthemum plant, removing excess branches and branches that are too vigorous or too weak, keeping only 3-5 branches.

5. Bud thinning: When chrysanthemums show buds in September, remove the buds at the lower part of the plant, leaving only one bud at the top of each branch.

Profit per Mu of Chrysanthemums

Planting tea chrysanthemums requires a cost of 5,000 per mu.

Chrysanthemum Yield per Mu: Chrysanthemums are planted every spring, with a growing period of one year.

Each mu requires about 4,000 chrysanthemum seedlings. One mu of chrysanthemums can produce 1,000 jin—1,500 jin of fresh chrysanthemums,

The yield of dried chrysanthemums per mu is 100—150 kg.