Chrysanthemums: November’s brightest bloom

08.11.2023 - 15:11 / theenglishgarden.co.uk / Clare Foggett

“Chrysanthemums do have an image problem,” says Judy Barker, holder of the National Collection of winter-hardy chrysanthemums. A far cry from the fussy chrysanthemums that grace the benches of horticultural shows, the plants Judy recommends are easy to grow, and come in a great colour range of autumnal yellows, oranges, reds and russets, as well as vibrant pinks, sunny yellows and pure, brilliant white. They are an asset in the border and a boon to pollinating insects, but the key is plant choice. “If you want good border chrysanthemums, you have to pick plants that are fully winter hardy,” Judy says.

Many of the chrysanthemum plants found in garden centres – the dome-like ‘cushion ’mums’ sold for autumn bedding for example – are not winter-hardy and those that truly are can be tricky to track down. If you want to benefit from these chrysanthemums’ incredible flowering stamina, rich colours and ease of care, you’ll need a questing spirit to help you scour the country’s nurseries for the real thing.

Judy has been collecting and trialling chrysanthemums for 17 years. Her passion began with her love of flower arranging: “I thought I would use my allotment to grow chrysanthemums for cutting,” she says. “I planted lots that were called ‘garden chrysanthemums’, left them in the ground over winter and lost them all. What nurserymen call hardiness is very different to total winter hardiness,” she adds.

Then, she came across Andrew Ward’s Norwell Nurseries, near Newark in Nottinghamshire, which stocked some hardy varieties in its mail-order catalogue. “I started buying some from Andrew, members of the Hardy Plant Society sent me plants in the post, and slowly I had a collection.”

Since those early days, Judy has championed