PlantSowGrow
How to plant and care for Chrysanthemum (Hardy Garden)
Chrysanthemum 'Mei-kyo'
A hardy garden chrysanthemum with masses of small, double pink pompons from late September to November — colour and pollen when the garden fades.
When to plant and care for it
Timed for a typical UK garden (last frost mid-April). The app uses your own town's frost dates.
Growing Chrysanthemum (Hardy Garden): what it needs
- Light
- Full sun · 6+ hours a day
- Watering
- Water well until established, then in dry spells
- Soil
- Fertile, well-drained soil
- Spacing
- 45 cm
- Height
- 60 cm
- In pots
- Grows well in containers
- Feeding
- A little general feed in spring
- Hardiness
- USDA zones 5–9
Step by step
- On planting day
Plant
Plant at the same depth as it was in its pot, 45 cm apart, and firm in.
- 0–1 days after “Plant”
Water In Well
Give a full can of water, then keep moist for the first few weeks while roots establish.
- 7–14 days after “Water In Well”
Mulch Around the Base
Spread 5 cm of compost or bark around the plant, keeping it off the stems.
Every year
- AprilDivide Big Clumps
Every 3–4 years, lift big clumps, split them into fist-sized pieces with a spade and replant the young outer parts.
- MayPinch Out Tips
Pinch the shoot tips once or twice before July for bushier plants with more flowers.
- OctoberIn Flower
Pompons in full flower.
- NovemberCut Back
Cut stems down to 10 cm after flowering and mulch the crown.
