Chrysanthemums grown in pots will give a burst of colour 

Chrysanthemums are not hardy in our climate but provide an impressive display when well looked after  

Chrysanthemums or pot mums like these really do extend the season of colour right into autumn but will need to be brought indoors for winter for them to do it all again next year. Picture: iStock

I REALLY do enjoy the colour that the chrysanthemums bring to the garden right now. Grown as pot plants and traditionally referred to as “pot mums” they are regarded as an old-fashioned, traditional cottage garden favourite.

They can be planted into the garden but don’t expect them to come back, at least, not to the same degree, each year. They aren’t really hardy in our climate but boy, do they give a great display during these few months if grown well in pots. They will need to be taken inside each winter to a greenhouse or polytunnel to give a similar display next year.

They are very popular throughout central Europe as a plant for graves during the autumn and winter. Over 25 million pot-grown chrysanthemums will be sold in France alone each year and many of these are sold in and around November 1 and 2, All Saints and All Souls Day.

Whilst we do celebrate these days in Ireland also, they’re not really associated with the chrysanthemum and that maybe to do with our tradition of neutrality and in particular during the First World War.

The association of chrysanthemums with grave visiting is not as old as one may think.

It began in France in 1919, during the first-anniversary celebration of the 1918 armistice. The French president Raymond Poincaré and prime minister Georges Clémenceau gave an order that all graves in France should be decorated to celebrate the anniversary and as there are not that many plants in full bloom still in November, the chrysanthemums took centre stage.

Since then they have been used every year to not only celebrate Armistice Day but to decorate graves in general.

Over €250 million worth of chrysanthemums are exported from Holland each year making the humble pot mum quite an important economic commodity.

The yellow-flowering chrysanthemum — one of which I am admiring as I write this piece — is really vibrant and bright, its colour nearly luminous in the fading autumn evening light though I can't help thinking that bright yellow is the wrong colour for this time of the year.

I feel we are so connected with nature and the natural world that our colour preference changes with the seasons. I adore the yellow of daffodils and many other spring favourites at that time of the year, the fresh yellows and greens, appearing at just the right time, tying in nicely with Easter, rebirth and the start of a new season.

However, as we enter the final quarter of the year, I am more drawn to the russets and bronzes that we associate with autumn. The deep purple and bronze, even the pink coloured chrysanthemums seem more “right” in the autumn.

Colour and which one we prefer is individual and to each their own so if a bright yellow is what you yearn for in September and October then don’t let me tell you otherwise. Whichever you opt for, they will want to be kept well-watered in the pot and certainly not allowed to dry out. IF this happens they will dramatically wilt in front of your eyes and while it may not be too late to soak them and bring them back to life, you will lose the vibrancy of the blooms.

They can also be used as a pot plant indoors during the next few months where they will probably survive in flower for that little bit longer. Expect to get a few months of flowers from one plant. Tae cuttings now if you want increased numbers for next year and if you have a growing facility such as a glasshouse or poly-tunnel. They will root quite easily from cuttings about 10cm in length taken from fresh stems. Cut at a node, where a leaf meets a stem and remove any flower buds and all but one pair of leaves. Dip the base of the cutting into some rooting powder, taking care to shake off any excess and stick it into some good quality compost and roots should emerge, at this time of the year in a few short weeks.

If all that seems like a bit too much effort they will also propagate quite successfully from dividing. With a clean knife or spade, simply cut the root system into two or more pieces. Often the pots which are available right now in garden centres are made up of three or more small plants all potted together and when the foliage dies off in the winter, dividing these into individual plants is a relatively easy task and means you will have even more to enjoy next year, provided you give them the necessary protection over winter.