Chrysanthemums
Surely
among the most popular of garden plants, the genus Chrysanthemum
brings a wonderful range of colour to the garden in late summer
and autumn.
Chrysanthemums range from the large-flowered sorts grown for the show bench, to bedding plants and hardy perennials. The latter include a range of compact, cushion-like plants that lend themselves to planting among other hardy perennials.
The RHS Chrysanthemum Committee
The Committee is responsible for selecting chrysanthemum
cultivars for Award of Garden Merit assessment and for judging
the trials. It is also responsible for recommending appropriate
awards to cut flowers submitted to it.
Find out more
RHS trials
The chrysanthemum trials held at Wisley are invaluable as a means of introducing to visitors some of the many new cultivars introduced each year. Plants are grown under uniform conditions of cultivation, enabling the visitor, like the judging committee, to make a useful value assessment of each. The results of each trial are reported in the Proceedings of the RHS.
The Award
of Garden Merit
List
of Award chrysanthemums
The naming debate: Chrysanthemum vs Dendranthema
Recent confusion over the renaming of Chrysanthemum to Dendranthema - now officially reversed - has put the subject of plant taxonomy and nomenclature under the spotlight. The issue was discussed thoroughly in an issue of The Garden:
Brummitt, D. (R.K.) 1997. Horticultural Science: Chrysanthemum once again. The Garden (RHS) 122(9): 662-663.
Further reading
Ardle, J. 1998. Nov. Ancient sagas. The Garden 123(11): 772-775. Extraordinary chrysanthemums from Japan.