Have you seen a long term weather forecast? The first week of September is expected to be in the late 1970s. It’s been a while since I’ve seen something consistently from the late 80s to the late 90s. The night lows are in the 1960s. Autumn is definitely coming soon! And while mercury still says “summer,” gardeners know it’s time to plant in fall.
I love this time of year. The cool temperatures inspire me to be more active in the garden than just taking care of what is available. And expectations of autumn and the changing color of the leaves make us think about adding deeper and more “traditional” autumn colors (burgundy, orange, gold) to the terrace.
An easy and old-fashioned way to incorporate these colors into your landscape is to use chrysanthemums. These members of the sunflower family are native to East Asia and Northern Europe. Fortunately, they bring color, texture and resistance to cold to our garden, but they cannot be “aggressive” or invasive. You can stay where you planted it.
There are many diseases that can affect chrysanthemums, but mothers are relatively comfortable. However, drought causes the wood to wither and if you water it too much the leaves turn yellow and black and fall off, so be careful with placement and watering. https://hgic.clemson.edu/factsheet/chrysanthemum-diseases-insekt-pests/
Before you go shopping, there is one basic plan to keep in mind. Would you like to put splashes of color on your deck or patio all fall, or make chrysanthemums in part of your perennial garden? It’s okay to put first class chrysanthemums, hardy chrysanthemums, or in a container, but if you want to recreate the plants every year, look for a hardy chrysanthemum.
In any case, in addition to good fall colors, chrysanthemums have the added benefit of being a good source of late honey for butterflies.
You can shop at your local garden center, or if you want to shop at home, Proven Winners (PW) has nearly 30 beautiful assortments of first class chrysanthemums. The plants will be shipped “in the form of buds ready to explode in color” by the end of the month. “The flowering time depends on the weather conditions and the speed increases as the temperature drops,” emphasizes PW. Information and ordering https://bit.ly/3jgMtns (Proven award-winning plants have been proven in tests around the world to be easy to care for, easy to care for, healthy, vibrant, long flowering, bright and colorful.)
One of my favorite events at Longwood Gardens is the annual Chrysanthemum Festival. This year’s festival runs from October 16 to November 14 and is free with regular admission. Information https://longwoodgardens.org/events-performances/events/chrysanthemum-festival
Note: In a previous column this month, we mentioned planting marsh milkweed (Ascelpias incarnata) and butterfly weed (Ascelpias tuberosa) to attract and support monarch butterflies. I forgot to mention the milkweed (Ascelpias syriaca). If you are serious about attracting monarchs, this is a great type of milkweed growing. It is sturdy, spreads out in pieces, and grows to a height of 3 to 5 feet (sometimes higher). Thank you also to everyone who briefed me on your own monarch’s adventures. Very encouraging and exciting!
