Regular pruning ensures that plants branch faster and better. This means bushes become denser and develop more flowers. Of course, this also applies to chrysanthemums, which need pruning in autumn and spring if possible.
When and how should you prune chrysanthemums?
Chrysanthemums should be cut back to the ground after flowering in autumn or spring. To promote bushy growth, shoot tips can be shortened and excess shoots removed in summer.
What do you do with chrysanthemums when they have faded?
Many people believe that chrysanthemums belong in the compost or in the trash after they bloom. This is wrong, because with the right care and pruning you can enjoy the bushy autumn flowers for many years. Therefore the motto applies: Don't throw away chrysanthemums after they have bloomed, but cut away the dead flowers and overwinter the plant. In spring, after further pruning, new growth occurs, after which the new flowers develop in autumn. But be careful: not all chrysanthemum varieties are hardy!
When should you prune chrysanthemums?
After flowering, you should cut the chrysanthemums. Whether you initially just remove the withered stems or carry out a radical cut is entirely up to you. Some gardeners only carry out pruning close to the ground in spring and leave the dried stems standing as winter protection. Much more important than the question of whether the pruning takes place before or after winter is the correct winter protection: Cover the chrysanthemums or their root area with a thick layer of brushwood or something similar.
How do you prune chrysanthemums?
As already described, you should cut the chrysanthemums down to just above the ground either in autumn or early spring. The flowers then sprout again from the root system. But even in summer, further care cuts are necessary so that a beautifully branched bush develops:
- Short shoot tips
- only four to five sheets should remain
- if growth is too dense, thin out and remove excess shoots
Make these cuts at regular intervals between May and July. However, do not prune during flowering unless you want to remove spent stems.
How to cut cuttings from the chrysanthemum?
Chrysanthemums can be propagated very well from cuttings that you can cut yourself. You should only cut these in summer and before bud formation, proceeding as follows:
- Choose head cuttings 10 to 15 centimeters long
- cut slightly diagonally
- root in a glass of water
- or alternatively plant in potting soil
Rooting the young plants is easier if you dip the cut ends in a rooting powder (€9.00 on Amazon) (or alternatively in self-made willow water) before planting. In addition, the substrate must always be kept slightly moist.
Tip
Supporting tall chrysanthemum bushes
From August, or at the latest in September, you should tie the flower stems of tall chrysanthemum varieties to a support rod. Otherwise it can easily happen that they kink. This particularly affects varieties that reach a height of 80 centimeters and more. Examples include 'Bienchen', 'Hebe', 'Königssohn', 'L'Innocence', 'Old White Variety', 'Rose Nymph' or 'Sulfur Sun'.
