Chrysanthemums

Chrysanthemums are traditionally given at Mother’s Day as they flower profusely during autumn and they contain the word mum!

I have found for some strange reason people tend to shy away from having Chrysanthemums in their garden. Maybe they are just too common?

Chrysanthemums are one of the easiest plants to grow and are perfect for green or brown fingered gardeners!

I find these brilliantly flowering plants are one of the best for gardens in the full sun.

They are so many varieties of chrysanthemums available today, one to suit every garden. The US National Chrysanthemum Society has derived that there are 13 different types of flower forms. Then there are the colours, I think every year they get more exquisite. There are single coloured and multi-coloured blooms ranging in colour from pure white to all shades of yellow, reds and purples.

Chrysanthemums are one of the easiest plants to grow and are perfect for green or brown fingered gardeners! Chrysanthemums have long lasting flowers and are relatively pest and disease free. This makes them perfect for everyone as this enables us to enjoy these plants hassle free for many years to come.

Potted chrysanthemums can flower for several weeks indoors but thrive best if placed in full sun. They can be grown in pots or in the garden. To keep them looking fantastic and to promote more flowers, remove all spent flowers and discoloured leaves and liquid fertilised fortnightly.

After flowering chrysanthemums should be cut back to about 15cm (6") high and given Organic Link fertiliser. They will usually flower again in about two months.

Chrysanthemums aren’t just the perfect idea to brighten up one's garden.

They can be used in cooking and teas. NASA Clean Air Study also found chrysanthemum plants can reduce indoor air pollution. Extracts of chrysanthemum plants have been shown to have a wide variety of potential medicinal properties, including anti-HIV-1, antibacterial and antimycotic.

Pyrethrum a well-known insecticide is also derived from chrysanthemums.

This Autumn don’t stress about finding a beautiful, versatile, easy care plant - just buy a Chrysanthemum!

The Perfect Plant

I can find the beauty in most plants but like everyone else I am always on the hunt for the perfect plant.

You know the one – grows in full sun or part shade, does not require me to fight with my twisted and kinked hose every day to water it, looks good even when I forget to fertilise, flowers most of the year, doesn’t have a scent so I can’t drive the neighbours batty and doesn’t require me to trim it to make it look good!  Oh, and I forgot to mention only grows about a metre so it looks good in a garden or in a pot and it doesn’t mind the cold or the heat!

You are all laughing now because you think the perfect plant doesn’t exist. Well I think it does.

Are you ready for it?

The perfect plant is called Pieris Japonica 'Temple Bells'.

Now when you all go rushing out to your local nursery to get the perfect plant, you must make sure you ask for Pieris japonica 'Temple Bells' as I don’t know any other Pieris that grows as well in Ipswich.

This highly ornamental plant has extremely dark green lush foliage that forms a dense mound.  In the warmer months its new growth is a brilliant red that fades to copper then green.  Though it is slow growing it still forms a nice shrub in a year or two.

It’s the almost continuous flowering that makes this plant perfect. The flowers can start their show as early as March.  The plant becomes covered with small lime green bell shaped buds that as the weather cools grow and open to form pure white bells that appear to be dripping off the plant. The flowers remind me of the lily of the valley flower. By the time the warmer weather kicks in, the white bells have dropped leaving the greenish ‘bell holders’ still on the bush for another month or so. It almost seems that the plant is in flower for more than half a year due to its three phase flowering process.

I have grown this plant in a pot in full sun for years now and it has always looked fabulous.  It can thrive in some shade too. As Pieris Japonica 'Temple Bells' won’t win any medals for fastest growing plant but not the slowest growing plant either - you can expect it to reach around a metre in height.

Pieris 'Temple Bells' in Bloom

This beautiful plant can be used as a feature plant in a pot or as a low hedge in a garden. It is versatile, easy to maintain and looks good all year whether it’s hot or frosty cold.

Always use excellent quality potting mix (I use Searles' Platinum Potting Mix) or garden soil (I use Searles' Garden Soil) and try to fertilise every season with a complete organic slow release fertiliser like Plant of Health's Organic Link.

Pieris japonica 'Temple Bells' really is the perfect plant. Give your garden some TLC this weekend and get a Pieris.  It will reward you all year.