William Orange spoke about his Grandfather Thomas Pockett OBE who was a world champion chrysanthemum breeder and was the first flower breeder in the world to be awarded an OBE for his work. Thomas Pockett was a Malvern Council Garden curator for 31 years. During the years of 1900 – 1920 he also designed many other suburban gardens.
William explained chrysanthemums were the national flower of Japan and were introduced into China from Japan, where the Chinese mandarins enjoyed drinking chrysanthemum tea. Chrysanthemums were introduced into England in 1840 where commercial varieties were bred. He then showed photos of chrysanthemums showing the many forms of flowers and describing the different petal formations.
William said chrysanthemums are not difficult to grow and he described the requirements. They need to be grown in well drained soil in raised garden beds in morning sun, while maintaining Ph levels of 6.5 – 6.6 just on the acidic side. Fertilize the plants when planted with a slow release fertilizer and continue regularly with a liquid fertilizer. Plants need to be staked as they grow to support the thin stems. Large flower heads require manipulating the plant by dis-budding and reducing the number of stems. Bushy plants produce many flowers, although the flower heads will be smaller.
Chrysanthemums are very prone to rust disease and pests, so companion planting is important to consider when planting to help distract harmful pests. Being damp overnight in warm weather can cause problems with rust disease, use a fungicide to protect the plant. If white rust occurs, remove the plant from the garden and destroy.
William demonstrated how to take tip cuttings from plants and recommended to take cuttings to replace original plants in the event of the plant being affected with a virus.
After flowering cut back to about 6 inches and every couple of years divide plant to refresh and reduce the number of stems growing.
William donated a white potted chrysanthemum to raffle.
