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The Garden
November 1998

Focus on Plants

Ancient sagas

Right: At once both strange and compelling, Saga-giku are the long-legged 'harvestmen' of the spider chrysanthemum group and are spectacular en masse

The Japanese Saga-giku chrysanthemums are quite extraordinary and yet have remained elusive in Britain. Jon Ardle describes the history and cultivation of this remarkable group of chrysanthemum cultivars

The origins of horticulture are lost in the mists of time, but the first plants to be domesticated
were undoubtedly those used as food or medicine. It is unlikely that it will ever be established exactly when plants began to be grown purely for the beauty of their flowers or leaves, but in the Far East, the chrysanthemum could lay claim to be one of the first ‘aesthetic domesticates’.

As early as the 5th century, Tou Yuen-ming, (AD365 – 427), resigned his position as an official in the Chinese government in order to lead a quieter life growing chrysanthemums in pots. It is probable that the plants, native to both China and Japan, had been grown in China for much longer.

The Chinese priests who introduced the Buddhist religion to Japan in the 6th century brought with them a long tradition of growing plants in pots. And as with garden design and bonsai, chrysanthemum growing soon developed its own Japanese flavour. Like bonsai, a similar emphasis on training and controlling plant shapes has evolved. It was only after the fall of the feudal government in 1867 that Japan actively encouraged trade with the West, allowing commercial access to its floral treasures. Today, the chrysanthemum is a quintessential Japanese flower, and has long been on the Imperial coat of arms.
Western-style spray chrysanthemums, or yogiku, are becoming popular as cut flowers and garden plants in Japan, but respect is still attached to traditional, disbudded types, collectively known as kotengiku or antique chrysanthemums. Many old strains are preserved for tradition’s sake at shrines such as the Daikakuji temple in Kyoto.

Among the most interesting of these antique chrysanthemums is a spectacular selection of ‘spider’ types with extra long petals, referred to as Saga-giku after the Saga Imperial Villa where they were first grown in the 9th century. The province of Saga forms the southwestern extremity of Kyushu, itself the most southerly of Japan’s major islands.

Above: At once both strange and compelling, Saga-giku are the long-legged 'harvestmen' of the spider chrysanthemum group and are spectacular en masse

Arachnophilia

What sets Saga-giku cultivars apart from other spider types is the length of their petals – which can be from 50mm (2in) up to 82mm (3.25in) in the case of the pale yellow C. ‘Sagano hikari’ – and the number of them, from 40 to 65. However, their most distinctive feature is the way these petals are held. On opening they are pendent but as the flower matures the central petals are held upright so the flower resembles an exploding firework. These are spiders taken to the extreme – flamboyant, horticultural tarantulas. Related to Saga-giku and probably derived from them are Ise-giku, a group of cultivars in which the petals are curiously twisted, earning the name ‘crooked’ chrysanthemums. Again, the group is named after its place of origin, Ise, a small town southeast of Osaka.

These plants are not unknown in Britain; indeed they had a brief period of popularity in Victorian times when Japan was a port of call for plant collectors. However, they are seldom seen today.
The National Chrysanthemum Society (NCS) is working to re-introduce many spider cultivars following its success in distributing anemone-centred chrysanthemums (see note, p775). Several are also being grown under glass at RHS Garden Wisley, but are not on public display at present.

Though Saga-giku chrysanthemums are not yet commercially available in the UK, in the experience of the NCS Honorary General Manager Wallace Farr, they are no more difficult to grow than other late-flowering greenhouse cultivars. They may take a season to settle down after import, but their petals
are not as delicate as they look, and resist fungi and bruising better than most modern incurved cultivars.

Perennial displays

As well as producing their own cultivars, Japanese chrysanthemum growers have developed individual styles of training and displaying. Chrysanthemum shows and festivals are still popular, although there is concern at declining numbers of entries and the rising popularity of Western-style chrysanthemums. The major shows are held in late November and November. One such is the Kyoto Botanical Gardens Chrysanthemum Exhibition, held every November. This show is organised by the Kyoto Chrysanthemum Federation, which has some 500 members.

Perhaps the most common display method is oogiku senban jitate, or bonyou. Plants are trained to produce three stems up to 1.5m (5ft) tall, each bearing a single large flower. An entry consists of 12 pots, a kadan. The Botanical Gardens runs courses in training and cultivation methods: in May on taking cuttings, in July on stopping and training, and in September on disbudding, flower care and showing. Part of the skill of the growers is in producing 12 plants at the peak of their flowering at the same time. Saga-giku are usually shown with a thin spiral ‘collar’ attached to their stems to support and flare out the lower petals.

The cascade form, or kengai, is when large plants are trained to a frame which falls down from the pot, reaching a point up to 2m (6.5ft) away from the rootball. These plants take at least 15 months to train, but are spectacular in flower.

In the kogiku bonsai jitate style, the plants are shaped into naturalistic tree forms, and are often grown
with large pieces of rock in shallow pots. The texture and shape of these ibigawa rocks suggest rugged mountain ranges. Miniature rock landscapes are described in texts dating back to the Tang Dynasty (AD618–907) in China, and have been popular both in China and Japan ever since. A show entry in this category consists of five pots.

Flowers enshrined

Shigetoshi Takabayashi, Director of the Kyoto Botanical Gardens, maintains that the classes in chrysanthemum growing are increasingly important. ‘There are many lovers of chrysanthemums in Japan, but it requires a lot of space, a great deal of labour and many plants to stage an exhibition, so few are held every year,’ he says. ‘The number of entries recently has decreased, which we see as a serious problem.’

A larger chrysanthemum festival is held annually in Bunkyo-ku, a precinct of central Tokyo. It is staged at the Yushima Shrine – which was founded on the site in AD1355 – and organised by the Bunkyo Aikiku Kai (Bunkyo Chrysanthemum Protection Society). The festival attracts entries of around 2,000 pots. As well as the categories already described, there are competition classes for single cut flowers, known as kiribana, and plants trained into recognisable shapes such as cranes, temples and ships, like topiary. This technique is known as bontei.

Perhaps the most spectacular exhibits, however, are found in the category called ozukuri. For this, plants
are trained into shallow domes several metres across by attaching them to a frame. At a distance, an ozukuri in flower looks like a formal bed planted with ornamental cabbages; closer examination, however, reveals the extraordinary skill and dedication of the grower in producing such a shape from a single plant.

About 300,000 visitors make the chrysanthemum pilgrimage during the month-long festival, and the shrine is particularly popular for traditional Japanese weddings at this time. The peak of the display is traditionally on 5 November, when judging takes place and prizes are awarded.

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