Let’s Grow a Giant Chrysanthemum

By “Awake!” correspondent in Japan

MOST flowers bloom in the spring or summer, but there is one in the temperate zone that waits till there is no competition. It is the chrysanthemum!

Here in Japan there is a unique way of growing these “mums,” and we would like to share it with you. It produces what we call “Giant Chrysanthemum,” or “ōgiku” in Japanese.

Chrysanthemums are found at many homes in Japan from September through November. Many persons, mostly men, make a hobby of raising ōgiku. So it is not unusual to find a house where there may be from three to as many as 20 pots of lovely ōgiku displayed at the entrance. Usually these have been tended and trained to form three stems that rise up to 36 inches (90 cm) topped with a huge blossom on each stem. Sometimes you can see one pot with seven stems each having a beautiful four-inch (10-cm) ball-like blossom of pale purple or some other color. There are many colors and varieties of shapes.

As a youth I spent my summer holidays working at nurseries in Ohio, and one of these specialized in chrysanthemums. But these were the hardy, outdoor kind used as borders and landscaping around houses. They are relatively easy to grow. In the spring, last year’s plants are dug up and the new shoots divided from the plant and replanted for the new crop. The ōgiku, on the other hand, requires more attention and care. According to the Encyclopædia Britannica, there are over 3,000 named varieties of chrysanthemums, and new forms are constantly being produced.

How to Grow an “Ogiku”

An acquaintance, Mr. Asano, grows ōgiku each year, so we asked him to explain the method used to grow the beautiful giant chrysanthemums. We had received a gift of a gorgeous potted yellow ōgiku and we asked our friend:

“Asano-San [Mr. Asano], we would like to have these same giant chrysanthemums next year. Will the plant simply put out new shoots and repeat itself like the flower we have this year?”

With a smile, Mr. Asano replied: “It is not quite that simple. You see, ōgiku will start to revert to its more simple state if let grow naturally. That is to say, it would have many flowers and they would be much smaller than the three large ball-like blossoms you received this year.”

“What shall we do to have the giant blossoms again?” we asked.

Steps Required

“After the plant has finished blossoming, cut the stem just below the bottom branch. Then plant it out of doors for the winter, mulching it with straw to protect it from freezing. In March, when you see new shoots coming up around the base of the dead stem, the plant should be dug up. Divide the new shoots, plant these in a bed of fine gravel and let them grow in the warm spring air. By the middle of May these shoots should be about eight inches (20 cm) tall. Now you should take cuttings from these shoots. These cuttings should be around two and three-fourths inches (7 cm) long. If you intend to make three stems, you should be sure there are three buds on the cutting above the moist sand in which you now plant them. (You will have to guide their growth with stakes and string to allow space for the blossoms.) Once the cuttings are planted, they should be kept in the shade and watered in the morning and evening. Do not neglect this watering. It is an essential part of making ōgiku. In about two weeks, roots should have formed.”

“Then we plant it in our pot and we’ll have our new ōgiku in the fall, is that right, Asano-San?” we asked eagerly.

“Oh, no! It’s not quite that easy!” Asano-San said with a laugh. “You are right in that it should now be transplanted from the sand into soil in a pot, but this is only the first of three transplants.”

Transplants Essential

“Three transplants?” we asked, surprised.

“Yes, the reason is that while we want to have an end result of a plant about three feet tall (90 cm), we want to retard its growth. So the transplants act as a shock and hold it back. Thus in the final transplant into a large pot all the energy will go into the flower,” Asano-San answered.

“Then each transplant is into a larger pot, is it?”

“That is correct,” Asano-San affirmed. “But there is some work involved here. If you are just growing a single stem, that is, a single ōgiku flower, you will have to pick the side buds off the stem as they appear. Obviously, if you are making a three-stem ōgiku, you will be three times as busy picking off these side buds. These are the buds that are found just above where the leaf and stem join. A good practice is to do it every other day, using a pointed scissorlike instrument. But be careful and do not injure the leaf. The leaf is for making food by converting light energy, so, if there are no leaves, there will be no flower!

“During this time you will have to watch for attacks by insects, such as aphids. By consulting a flower shop you can get the proper spray to use. Here in Japan we have the rainy season from mid-June to mid-July so we have to be sure that the plant is dry when we spray or we may harm it.”

Timing of Transplants

“What are the times for each of these transplants?”

“There is no set date, but since you start the first potting in June and the flower is to blossom in October, there are roughly 100 days. So the second transplanting would be in the latter part of July and the final transplant in the latter part of August or the first part of September. I might add here that ōgiku requires a fibrous loam soil. And rather than manure or fertilizer, vegetable compost is recommended.”

“Thank you, Asano-San, we appreciate your explanation. I think I’d like to give it a try.”

Would you like to “give it a try”? Some time and effort are required, but that just adds to your pleasure as you see the results when ‘God makes it grow.’