How to keep chrysanthemums in winter?

Chrysanthemums are considered to be plants that perfectly decorate the garden or yard during the cold season. But in order for the plant not to be harmed by frosts, it must be protected from cold weather for the winter. This can be done in two ways: either by covering it, or by digging it up and taking it into the house.

Winter hardiness for all varieties of chrysanthemums is different. The "weakest" of them should be dug up in the fall and stored in the basement or in any cool room during the cold months. In the spring, the bushes are planted in their original place.

Here are a few varieties of chrysanthemums that need this kind of care:

• "Flamingo" - Terry chrysanthemums with a bright pink color;
• "Anna Yaroslavna" - plants, which are a bush that is decorated with crimson flowers;
• "Gazelle" - these are terry chrysanthemums of a pale white color;
• "Sun" - needle-like chrysanthemums with a yellow color.

In addition, chrysanthemum balls do not tolerate frost very well. For the winter, it is worth digging the following chrysanthemums:

• "Ares" - spectacular bushes with small bright crimson flowers;
• "Natalie" - small terry soft crimson chrysanthemums;
• "Tricky White" - such bushes are very large, completely covered with delicate white flowers.

It is very important to properly prepare bushes with chrysanthemums for the winter period by treating them with special means and forming a bush. The first stage of preparation is feeding. It is necessary to do this with the onset of autumn. First, you need to add potash or phosphorus fertilizers, which will significantly increase the winter hardiness of plants, and also make the inflorescences more lush and beautiful.

At any time of the year, including before winter, chrysanthemums require regular care. They need to be watered in a timely manner, and also from time to time inspected for the appearance of various diseases or pests. If you miss the moment when the bush has just been struck by the disease, then it will be very difficult to cure the plant later.

This is necessary so that most of the nutrients go to the roots, and the plant is very strong and strong. It is necessary to cut off not only rotten or old branches, but also simply very weak or broken ones. Strong stems should be shortened to 10-15 centimeters. It is best not to touch young shoots at all.

To preserve chrysanthemum cuttings in winter, you can use several methods: for example, leave them in the open field, dig them up and plant in pots or in a cellar, place them in a greenhouse or even on a balcony.

Many gardeners keep small plants in pots by placing them in heated rooms. First you need to carefully dig up the flowering bush. In order not to damage the roots in the process, the ground around the bush must first be watered well, wait a little, and only then start digging. In the meantime, you need to start preparing the flowerpot.

A drainage layer must be laid at the very bottom. You can use either fine gravel or broken brick.Then you need to place the chrysanthemum in a pot, and very carefully sprinkle everything with a loose substrate.

During flowering, the pot can be placed on or near a well-lit windowsill. When the chrysanthemum has completely bloomed, you can start pruning it. After that, the flowerpots must be placed in a cool place, for example, in the basement, and stored there until spring. If young shoots appear during this period, they must be broken off immediately. In this case, the flowers will be very lush in summer. When the frosts have completely receded, the chrysanthemums can be planted in a new place.

In order to prolong the flowering of chrysanthemums, they must be transplanted into the greenhouse in advance. With the onset of the first frost, all the stems will need to be removed, leaving only 2 centimeters of the plant above the ground. After that, the wintering bushes must be sprinkled with a layer of dry humus. Its height should not be less than 25 centimeters. In addition, you will need to cover the chrysanthemums with any covering material.

If this is not done, then they will simply vytryut, that is, they will die. In that case, when the greenhouse is heated, and the temperature inside it is within 5 degrees above zero, the plants will not need shelter.

Very often, buckets, boxes or any other container are used to preserve chrysanthemums in the winter. Peat and coarse sand must be poured into the container in equal parts. To store flowers, you can use warm basements or cellars, warm balconies or even sheds. The temperature in such rooms should not rise above +5 degrees and drop below +1 degrees Celsius.

The success of this option depends not only on the level of preparation of the plant, but also on how suitable the cellar is, in which the chrysanthemum will winter. First of all, the temperature in the room should be within 3-5 degrees above zero. In addition, the cellar must be well ventilated. It should be free of any traces of mold and any insects.

This procedure must be carried out quite carefully, without shaking off the ground from the roots. Then the dug out chrysanthemums must be left in the fresh air for several days so that they can dry well. If suddenly the plant was infected, it must be sprayed using special insecticides.

Next, chrysanthemums must be moved to the basement, where they can be stored directly on the floor or in a specially prepared box. Plants must be laid very tightly to each other, and covered with a layer of earth on top. In the event that it is very warm in the cellar, the chrysanthemum can sprout even in the middle of winter. However, they will be very weak at this time, so it will be better to get rid of them.

When the roots are too dry and lethargic, they should be sprayed with water. If mold or mildew appears on the chrysanthemums, they must be removed from the cellar immediately. Those plants that are not infected are best treated with special anti-fungal drugs.

You can also store chrysanthemums in the prikop in winter. However, this is possible only in those regions where the ground does not freeze very deeply. Besides the snow cover should be quite large... But in the spring, it is imperative to free the trench from snow so that it is dry. The depth of the trench should be between 50 centimeters and one meter.

Chrysanthemums need to be dug up and laid on the very bottom very tightly to each other. In that case, if there are too many plants, they can even be laid in two layers... Sprinkle them on top with either dry sawdust or dry leaves. Then everything needs to be covered with spruce branches. In addition, you can add another layer of covering material. For this, boards or slate are suitable. From above, you can additionally cover them with a film. In the spring, the covering material will need to be removed, but it is best to do this gradually.

It is worthwhile to familiarize yourself in more detail with the varieties that can winter in the garden or in the flower bed. For this, hybrid Russian or Korean chrysanthemums with small flowers are suitable. Among the latter, it is worth noting the chrysanthemum "oak", the leaves of which are very similar to the leaves of an oak. In addition, other varieties can be planted in open ground.

• Etna - These are needle-like chrysanthemums, painted in a light lilac color.
• "Slavyanochka" - refers to border colors that are pink in color.
• "Multiflora" - are spherical bushes. However, they can only be found outdoors in warm regions.
• "Tom Pierce" Are large-flowered plants with red-orange flowers.
• Anastasia green is a meter high bushes with green inflorescences.
• "Pink chamomile" - This is a perennial chrysanthemum, the height of which reaches 70 centimeters. Its flowering begins in September and lasts until the first frost.
• "Splashes of champagne" - This is a needle-like pink chrysanthemum, the flowering of which begins only in October.
• "The Golden Fleece" - will delight everyone with beautiful light orange flowers.

However, all these varieties of chrysanthemums require good shelter. You can save your favorite flowers from the cold in different ways. The first option is mulching the land. It is necessary so that moisture, as well as various beneficial trace elements, can stay in the ground for as long as possible. In this way, an imitation of the natural layer of the earth occurs. Do not forget that with the onset of the first frost, the chrysanthemum will need hilling with sawdust, peat or humus... In the event that the winters are too cold, additional shelter in the form of spruce branches or dry leaves should be laid on top.

However, all chrysanthemums must be cut off before doing this. As a result, you can cover everything on top with sheets of iron or slate.

As soon as the first snow falls, it is necessary to build snowdrifts over the flowers, which can protect the chrysanthemums from severe frosts. In addition, such a shelter in the spring will give additional moisture to chrysanthemums, and they will be able to grow much more actively. In addition, so that the chrysanthemums are not seduced, with the onset of heat, the shelter must be gradually removed.

You need to start work with the onset of autumn. To do this, the bush must be overlaid with a brick so that a box is obtained. Then you need to put spruce branches on top. You can also use other covering materials, the main thing is that they allow air to pass through and do not trap steam. After all, excess moisture will be too harmful for such a plant.

Many beginners, growing chrysanthemums at home, make a lot of mistakes. And this, as you know, leads to the death of the plant. In order not to repeat them and properly care for chrysanthemums, you need to familiarize yourself with all the mistakes in more detail. The first mistake is the untimely opening of the bushes. In this case, in the spring you can see that chrysanthemums do not sprout, that is, they have no shoots at all.

Another mistake that many beginners make is the introduction of nitrogen preparations in the fall. This leads to the fact that chrysanthemums throw all their strength into building up green mass.As a result, the plant becomes less hardy, its root system weakens. In this case, the chrysanthemum will not endure the winter well, it may even die.

This is especially bad for varietal plants. In this case, the flowers become smaller and smaller. And also it is necessary to select the right varieties in accordance with the climatic zone in which a person lives. Summing up, we can say that you can save chrysanthemums in winter in various ways... And if everything is done correctly, then these beautiful flowers will be able to please everyone with their beautiful buds.

In the next video, you will learn how to properly prune a chrysanthemum and cover for the winter.