The star of garden

Amarjeet Singh Batth

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Chrysanthemum commonly known as, ‘guldaudi’ is a popular herbaceous perennial which is widely grown globally and ranks next only to rose in its appeal.

Chrysanthemum is among the first flowers to bloom in autumn and presents a magnificent display with a wide range of colours, shapes, sizes and forms. A series of Chrysanthemum Shows that are organised in different cities and by different institutions prove how popular and loved this dainty flower is among the gardening enthusiasts.

The hardy nature of this plant is one of the factors responsible for its “fan” following. Chrysanthemums perform well in flower beds as well as in pots. It is an excellent cut flower and has a vase life of about a week and often used as a loose flower also in various religious ceremonies.

Blooming depends upon the variety of the chrysanthemum and starts from late October and continues till early January. Once the blooming commences, continuous removal of spent flowers should be done.

Once the blooming period is over the pots can be shifted to a shady location and maintained for the rest of the year and without flowers too the plants carry on the evergreen look.

Propagation

It is propagated by terminal stem cutting and suckers. In late June or early July, terminal cuttings are taken from healthy stock plant. The basal leaves are removed and the basal portion is treated with a growth hormone and planted in a rooting medium consisting of one part of sand and preferably one part of burnt rise husk.

The plants are kept under shade and moisture is maintained. Within less than a month or so the cuttings are ready to be shifted to the pots.

The pot mixture should consist of one part of garden soil, one part of farm yard manure, two part of leaf mould, two table spoon of bone meal. Captain (0.3 %) is administered to avoid rotting of cuttings.

Maintenance

To have awesome blooms a few garden operations have to be followed. These include:

Irrigation: Irrigation of these plants should be managed well during September-October. Over watering should be avoided and rainwater accumulated in pots should be drained by tilting the pots. Excessive irrigation results into yellowing of leaves and rotting of roots. Watering should be done only 2-3 times a week or on need basis.

Feeding: After the potting has been done, regular fortnightly dose of liquid manure till bud formation is very beneficial. Liquid manure is prepared by fermenting about two kg of fresh cow dung alternatively farmyard manure in 10 litres of water. Water is filled in a big container and cow dung is put in a muslin cloth and suspended in the water container for 5-7 days. The liquid is then diluted to tea color and be put 500 ml to one litre per pot. Alternatively, 2 gram of urea dissolved in water can be given.

Stalking: Staking is done with a purpose to give support to the growing stem and curtailing the spread of the stem. Staking is done preferably with strong, small, split bamboo stakes which are inserted deep enough in the compost to support the grown up plant. In general, the first crown bud which develops gives the largest bloom.

Pinching: If only one flower is required no pinching is required, but dis-budding and de-shooting is done. Pinching is done to the main stem to promote the side branching and number of flowers. Pinching is done when the plants are 8-10 cm tall and the tip of the main stem about 3-5 cm is removed. This procedure should be repeated at regular intervals.

Dis-budding is done with the aim of channelising all the energy to the retained bud for an optimum quality bloom. It starts as soon as the flower buds start appearing. If all flower buds are allowed to grow, they will yield small flowers, therefore, only one bud per stem is retained in large flower cultivars. Dis-budding is done when the buds surrounding the central bud have grown to half cm long pedicle, thus avoiding injury to the central bud.

Be careful about the attack of aphids and hairy caterpillars.