Extending The season - Growing Chrysanthemums

The Best Late-Season Cut Flower

Extending the growing season is one of the biggest challenges for flower farmers. It’s easy to fill beds with blooms in summer, but finding flowers that thrive in the cooler months takes planning.

For me, the most prolific and rewarding late-season crop has to be chrysanthemums. Just as the dahlias are being lifted and the garden is winding down, these blooms arrive with a final burst of rich autumn colour.

If the frost holds off, chrysanthemums and dahlias pair beautifully together, creating textural, jewel-toned arrangements. But even after the first frost has blackened the dahlia foliage, chrysanthemums keep going—offering cut flowers right through to December.

They are easy to grow, simple to propagate, and a must-have for any flower farmer or cutting garden. If you want to extend your season, now is the time to plan ahead and get them started.

Buying Chrysanthemum Cuttings

The best chrysanthemums for cutting aren’t grown from seed—they come from specialist nurseries that sell rooted cuttings.

Garden centres won’t stock florist-quality chrysanthemums. Most sell short-stemmed bedding varieties that form compact mounds, rather than long, elegant stems for cutting.
For the best varieties, look for heirloom chrysanthemums or "showbench" mums—these have been bred for exquisite blooms and tall stems.
A quick online search will help you find suppliers in your region. Most will deliver small rooted cuttings straight to your door.

Some of my favourite chrysanthemum varieties for cutting include Allouise and Avignon, both of which have incredible colour, form, and vase life.

How to Propagate Chrysanthemums from Cuttings

One of the best things about chrysanthemums? You can easily multiply your stock for free.

Once your cuttings arrive and start growing, you can take your own cuttings from the new growth—no specialist equipment required.

How to Take Chrysanthemum Cuttings

Wait until stems are 20cm tall, then trim the main shoot back to the second pair of leaves.This gives 2–3 cuttings, each around 7cm long.
Fill a seed tray with a 50/50 mix of perlite and compost.
Strip the lower leaves from each cutting.
Dip in hormone rooting powder (optional—chrysanthemums root easily without it).
Use a dibber to create a hole in the compost and insert the cutting. The base of the cutting should be close to the bottom of the tray.
Water well and place in a warm, sheltered spot out of direct sunlight.
Use a propagator lid or mist lightly for the first few days to prevent drying out.

How to Know When Chrysanthemums Have Rooted

Rooting takes 2–3 weeks.
If using transparent cell trays, check for visible roots.
If not, gently tug on a cutting—if there’s resistance, it has rooted.

Once rooted, you can repeat the process, taking further cuttings from your new plants. Each pinch encourages more branching, creating bushier plants with more flowering stems.

Pinching Chrysanthemums for More Blooms

Pinching chrysanthemums delays flowering but increases the number of stems—making it a key technique for extending the harvest window.

You can keep pinching until mid-to-late June, depending on when you want to start cutting.
I stagger my pinching to spread my harvest from September to December.
The later I pinch, the longer I leave the stem, ensuring I still get good stem length for cutting.

How to Grow Chrysanthemums for Cutting

Chrysanthemums are short-day plants, meaning they naturally flower when day length decreases in autumn. This makes them perfect for extending the flower season into the colder months.

Plant in a semi-shaded location to trick them into blooming slightly earlier.
They don’t need much space—grow them in the ground or in large pots.
Provide good drainage—if your soil is heavy, amend it with compost or plant in raised beds.
Fertilise correctly:
- Early in the season, use a high-nitrogen feed (like pelleted chicken manure) to promote leafy growth.
- Once buds appear, switch to a high-potash fertiliser (like tomato feed) to encourage flowering.

Harvesting Chrysanthemums for Long Vase Life

Cut flowers just as they begin to open—this extends vase life.
Remove excess foliage from stems before conditioning.
Leave stems in deep water overnight before arranging.

With the right care, chrysanthemums keep blooming long after most flowers have faded—bringing rich colour, incredible vase life, and an essential late-season harvest.