Late Autumn Blooms
08 May 2012 Leave a Comment
in 4. Seasonal Garden Notes Tags: Chrysanthemums, Justicia, Late Autumn, My garden, Zygocactus
Pink Zygocactus Flower
Just a quick note of the day. Today is a glorious sunny and warm Autumn Day after many grey rainy days. The Chrysanthemums are flowering nicely….they had to be covered with a plastic sheet during the rain. Getting too wet of many days of rainfalls would rot the delicate petals. Some of the Zygocactus (Schlumbergera, Christmas cactus) are blooming and the others still in buds. The Justicia is also blooming. Late season roses are still in flower but they are not as good as the spring and summer flowers. Meanwhile all the Jade plants ( Crassula ovata) are covered with tiny white flower buds.
Oh yes….. the cute little kitten is lazily basking in the warmth of the sun.
Zygo Cactus
Zygocactus ‘White Fantasy’ (Schlumbergera/Christmas Cactus)
Salmon Colour Zygocactus
Red Copper Chrysanthemums
Mauve Chrysanthemums
Pink Justicia carnea
Chrysanthemum, the Queen of Autumn
09 May 2011 Leave a Comment
in 6. Wonderful Plants Tags: Autumn Flower, Chrysanthemums, Meanings, Mother's Day Flower, My garden
How true it is that the rose is the queen of all flowers in summer time. But when the weather is cool and the wind is getting stronger and chillier in the autumn, it is when Chrysanthemums are blooming. It is the time when leaves are falling and all summer blooms have disappeared and the sky is less cheerful, the queen of the autumn is showing its glory.
Chrysanthemum is one of my many favourite flowers. I love the bright colours that come in many different shades. They are long lasting and have nice strong herbal fragrance.
Both in China and Japan, Chrysanthemums signify a comfortable life and good fortune. People use the flowers as gifts and offering on altars. It is believed that Chrysanthemums have powerful Yang energy so they attract good luck inside homes and in the garden. The beauty of these flowers can be seen in many traditional paintings.
In Western culture, white Chrysanthemums signify the truth and sincerity, while the yellow ones are the symbol of tender affection and the red ones are for the expression of passionate love. As Chrysanthemums are abundant around Mother’s day, here in Australia they are regarded as Mother’s Day Flowers.
Link to previous blog on Chrysanthemums:
http://kiyanti2008.wordpress.com/2009/03/04/chrysantemum-the-mother%e2%80%99s-day-flower/
My Chrysants
25 Apr 2009 Leave a Comment
in 6. Wonderful Plants Tags: Chrysanthemums, Gardening, Plant
Just a quick addition to my blog about Chrysanthemums (March Archive).
These are pictures of the first blooms of my Chrysanthemum plants this year, the mauve ones. They haven’t fully open yet, and I have to cover them when we have too much rains. If too wet, they will rot quickly.
We had the worse dry spell in the last few months so I am afraid my other chrysanthemums will not flower as good.
Chrysanthemum, The Mother’s Day Flower
04 Mar 2009 3 Comments
in 6. Wonderful Plants Tags: Chrysanthemums, Gardening, Plant
I’m not sure about anywhere else, but in Australia Chrysanthemums are Mother’s day Flower (Mother’s day in Australia in the 2nd Sunday of May). My husband and son always give me potted Chrysanthemum flowers for Mother’s Day. I prefer the living chrysanthemums. This way I can stick them somewhere in the garden when they have finished flowering. I have a patch chrysanthemums plants that always flower every year.
Traditionally, white chrysanthemums are used for Mother’s Day presents. But for me I love the colourful ones. I’m not sure why they use chrysanthemums as Mother’s Day flowers, but I think because Mother’s Day is in May and during this month Chrysanthemums are in season, they are abundant and cheap. Maybe it is also because Chrysanthemums are long last thing flowers both in the garden and in flower arrangements.
Plant Details:
The botanic name is Dendranthema x grandiflora. There are about 40 species of chrysanthemums, mostly are from China, Japan and East Asia. Some are single petals, some double and the rare ones are so exotic and large they resemble a pompom, and some are spider shaped. To day many hybrids have been produced with magnificent brilliant shades of red, pink, salmon, yellow, orange, bronze and green. The sheer beauty and versatility of these flowers are the reason why the Chinese people have been growing them for 2,500 year. Chrysanthemums are also known as the national flower of Japan.
Planting guide:
The easiest and cheap way is to buy Chrysanthemums in pot and make sure when you buy them they have roots. You can check underneath the pot to see of there are some roots poking out through the drainage holes.
When the potted chrysanthemum has finish flowering, pick a sunny spot in the garden with reasonably rich and well drain soil. The best is you add compost into the soil. Take the plant out of the pot and plunge it into a hole that is slightly larger than the size of the pot. Cover it with soil and add more compost on the top. It will die down, but if alive, it will promise you more flowers each year when they are in season. They are hardy, even during the draught. What they need when they started to grow is a little bit of complete fertilizer. If you prefer short compact bush, then pinch the top when they start to grow leaves in December (in Australia). After few years, you can dig up the plants and divide them. They are very easy to grow and practically disease free.
Usage:
- Flower arrangement: long lasting and provide many different sizes, shapes and colour. Today, the flowers are available all year around as they are hybridized and cultivated in green houses. Naturally they flower in late summer through autumn.
- Chrysanthemum tea. It is made from the species called Chrysanthemum morifolium or indicum. It is a popular beverage in East Asia. The tea is available in dry form or in powder. The dried flowers are brewed in a teapot or in a cup with a bit of rock sugar, normal sugar or honey. The hot water is perfect around 90 degrees C or slightly cooled after boiling. It is believed that Chrysanthemum tea has a cooling effect in a hot day.
- Medicinal purposes: It helps to relieve symptoms of influenza. Also used for sore throat and to reduce fever. Some believe the tea is good for alertness to keep you from falling asleep. In western herbal medicine it is used to treat circulatory disorders like varicose veins and atherosclerosis. The tea is also good to keep healthy eyes with sharp vision and treat dry eyes.
- Natural Insect Repellent: White Chrysanthemum Tanacetum cinerarriaefolium flowers produce a natural insecticide called pyrethrum. It provides safe fast acting insecticide to kill most insect pests. Non toxic to human and warm blooded animals and easy to break down in sunlight to prevent build up in environment.
Note: It has been very dry here in Melbourne this summer, so I’m not really confident that the chrysanthemums in my garden will have good flowers this year, and currently we are under 3A water restrictions here. There was a good rain last night after almost 3 months without any rain. Hopefully there will be much more rains so that they will bear reaonably good flowers this year.
