Floristics and garden fashion is developing today as rapidly as any other industry. A new group of plants, which conquered the flower market and is now at the peak of popularity among gardeners, is chrysanthemum multiflora. Thanks to its excellent decorative characteristics, this flower won the hearts of not only professional florists, but also amateurs who want to decorate their plots. Knowing a few simple features, such a chrysanthemum can be grown in open ground, on a balcony and in rooms. We will describe how to do this in this article.
Chrysanthemum multiflora: description of the variety
Chrysanthemum multiflora (Chrysanthemum multiflora) - a new line of small-color undersized chrysanthemums, having a lush, thick and abundant color. This group has the genetic form of a ball, for which it is also called spherical chrysanthemum. The undersized spherical chrysanthemum begins to bloom from the end of summer, its bush is completely covered with double flowers of white, yellow, orange, pink, lilac, red and burgundy. There are even varieties that look like chamomile: they have a yellow middle and white petals on the edges.
Did you know? Because of the attractive spherical shape and bright yellow and blood-red hues, landscape designers call chrysanthemum multiflora the “Japanese sun”.
Features of growing chrysanthemum multiflora
Chrysanthemum multiflora is not a moody flower, the rules for planting and caring for it are quite simple. But, on the other hand, due to ignorance of some key features of cultivation, it often perishes.
Lighting Requirements
A sufficient amount of light is one of the main conditions affecting the growth of the bush and the quality of flowering, so for planting chrysanthemum you need to choose a sunny place, open and spacious. However, the plant is a short-day crop and blooms when the night phase of the day is at least 12 hours. You should not plant multiflora under the crowns of trees or near fences, their shadow will prevent the correct formation of the flower ball.
What should be the temperature and humidity for successful growth
The optimum air temperature when planting chrysanthemums is + 18 ... +20 ° С. In order for the rooting process after planting to be successful, a constant temperature of at least +18 ° C and high air humidity are needed. In winter, it is best to clean the chrysanthemum in a dark, cool place - a basement or cellar, where the temperature does not fall below zero.
Leave the chrysanthemum multiflora for wintering in the open field is possible only in southern conditions. At the same time, it is still necessary to create a light shelter for the plant, excluding light and freezing. When the snow begins to melt, you need to have time to remove the shelter to prevent wetting.
Substrate requirements for growing multiflora
Multiflora is a rather moisture-loving flower, therefore, for its successful growth, a permeable, friable and light substrate is necessary, with acidity suitable for feeding the leaf plate. Perlite, a mixture of peat with perlite or sod land with river sand will be suitable as a substrate. Also, good results can be achieved if you plant a chrysanthemum in such a substrate: garden soil, turf soil, sand, humus (rotted manure, chicken manure) in the ratio 4: 4: 1: 1.
Important! Do not use pure peat as a substrate. It leads to the rapid drying of the seedling.
How to plant a spherical chrysanthemum
Before planting, the soil, ideally loose and well permeable to water, needs to be dug up, removed weeds and formed into planting holes at a distance of at least 40-50 cm from each other. Each hole should be poured abundantly and lay out the substrate along with complex fertilizers. For successful rooting, you can pre-hold the seedlings in the alpha naphthylacetic acid stimulator. Then plant the cuttings to a depth of 1.5-2 cm. If the lower leaves reach the ground and interfere, they can be cut.
When growing chrysanthemum multiflora indoors, it is better to use sod land in packets. It is impossible to immediately fill the pot with it, you must first check the ground for the presence of fungus or mold, which could appear if stored improperly. If the soil is good, pre-pour it and mix with drainage (3: 1). Pot for planting should not be too large, enough five-liter, but always with holes. At the bottom of the pot, you must first lay a layer of drainage (about 3 cm). Sand, dried and crushed egg shells, gravel or small stone are suitable for this. After laying the drainage, sprinkle the soil evenly, gently pressing it in, then plant a shoot as well to a depth of 1.5 - 2 cm.
When the first few pairs of leaves appear on the seedlings, we pin the tip so that the plant turns into a huge blooming ball.
Landing Care Rules
Chrysanthemum multiflora refers to plants that are better undernourished than overdoing with top dressing. But the moisture multiflora loves in large quantities.
Watering features
Spherical chrysanthemum is a very moisture-loving plant, so generous watering during planting and care is the main condition for good growth. Even a short-term lack of moisture will adversely affect the size of the bush, the density and number of flowers. The frequency of watering depends on weather conditions. In hot and arid weather, plants are watered plentifully and as often as possible. In the rain and in high humidity conditions, watering is not required. It is very useful for maintaining humidity to periodically loosen the soil around the bushes. The first week after planting chrysanthemum need high humidity, so the seedlings need to cover with a can or polyethylene.
How to fertilize chrysanthemum
Multiflora does not require highly fertile soils, but the main make-up components are necessary, because when they are deficient, growth and development of buds are slowed down, and iron chlorosis of the leaves occurs (yellowing). If the ground was well fed in advance, then after 20 days after planting, one additional feed will be needed nitrogen-containing fertilizers. After the seedling enters the phase of bud formation, fertilizers that contain potassium and phosphorus can be fertilized. They contribute to abundant, long-term flowering and bright color. Also for these purposes, suitable humus and mullein.
If the chrysanthemum is affected by pests, most often it is aphid, tick, slug, caterpillar, treat it with an appropriate pesticide.
Important! Water multiflora dressing need only under the root. In contact with the leaves, mineral fertilizers cause burns. Excess fertilizer leads to fattening bushes.
How to care for a plant after flowering
In October-November, when the multiflora fades, it is necessary to cut off the upper aerial part, leaving 10-15 cm of the stem. This is necessary in order to further prevent the possible infection by pests and diseases of new shoots, which could have affected the old stems. In addition, this pruning stimulates the growth of more shoots in the spring. During frequent autumn rains multiflora affects the fungal disease - powdery mildew. To avoid this, the plant must be sprayed with copper-containing preparations. For winter, cut bushes should be lined with straw or coniferous branches, and then sprinkled with humus. This will allow as long as possible to retain moisture in the soil and protect the plant from parasites.
Reproduction of chrysanthemum multiflora
The reproduction of chrysanthemum multiflora is possible in several ways: cuttings, dividing the root of the bush, and seeds.
Cuttings
When chrysanthemum is propagated by cuttings, it is necessary in March to bring the mother bush into a warm and well-lit room. In April, after the cuttings have grown, you need to cut them and plant them in pots with wet sand for rooting. The process will be faster if the cuttings create greenhouse conditions: high humidity and heat. It is necessary to cover the pots with a film and periodically air them. In a month you will get good seedlings, which by the autumn will turn into beautiful spherical bushes. 
Chrysanthemum root division
The division of the root is carried out in April. To this end, the mother shrub is dug out of the soil and the shoots containing the root system are separated one by one. The resulting seedlings need to be immediately placed in the open ground, and to obtain a beautiful spherical bush, just one uterine shoot is enough.
Important! It is very important to carry out the division in April. If you do it in May, the magnificent spherical shape will not work. Also, if the bush is not enough to divide into seedlings, this will lead to a decrease in the ornamental value of the plant.
Seed propagation method
You can multiply chrysanthemum multiflora in two more ways of seed sowing: direct and transplanting. Direct sowing is carried out in late April or early May. In the ground you need to prepare the pits for planting at a distance of 25-27 cm from each other, water them carefully and plant several seeds. Then crops need to cover with a film to accelerate their germination. Two weeks after sowing, one plant should be left in each well, and all the excess should be planted in other places. Sowing on seedlings is carried out at the end of February or in March. It is necessary to pre-moisten the soil with a spray, cover the seeds and cover with polyethylene. It is necessary to moisten the soil from time to time, air the crops and maintain the temperature for them from +20 to +25 ° С. In both cases, seed propagation needs to regularly loosen the soil, remove weeds and fertilize the crops.
