Chrysanthemum indicum Cottage Apricot

Chrysanthemum x indicum Cottage Apricot is a particularly robust garden chrysanthemum that blooms in autumn colours. The petals of its flower, initially fine needles, open up wide and flat in a beautiful shade between bronze, caramel, and burnt orange. Then the colour becomes more intense, coppery red. They surround a beautiful acid yellow heart. The heady scent of the flowers evokes honey. This variety is known to bloom for more than 10 years, with great sobriety, as it thrives in even poor and dry soils. Hardy and very perennial, it is perfect in flowerbeds or in pots on a terrace. It quickly forms a beautiful, very flowery clump that lasts several weeks.

The Garden Chrysanthemum is an herbaceous and rhizomatous perennial plant belonging to the Asteraceae family, a cousin of daisies and sunflowers. Cottage Apricot is a cultivar derived from Chrysanthemum indicum, a plant native to East Asia, cultivated since Antiquity in China, Japan, and Korea, which is the origin of florist chrysanthemums. It forms, starting in spring, a bush 70 cm (28in) tall and 50 cm (20in) wide, composed of leafy, branched, woody stems at the base. Its growth is quite rapid. Flowering takes place in September and October. The plant produces numerous flowers grouped in heads, resembling daisies, reaching 7 cm (3in) in diameter, grouped in small bouquets at the top of the leafy stems. The disc is acid yellow, the ligules on the periphery, initially rolled up like needles, unfold wide and rounded. They are a caramel-orange colour, ageing to coppery red. The leaves are triangular-ovate, coarsely divided into 5 lobes and measure up to 5 cm (2in) long. They have toothed edges, a somewhat dull dark green colour, and are hairy underneath. The above-ground vegetation dries up in winter and regrows in spring. Its very perennial stump will live for a long time in the garden.

Garden chrysanthemums offer valuable resources during a slightly less flowery time of year and blend remarkably well with autumn colours. They are often associated with asters, in complementary colours. Their blooming is lightened by that of cosmos, Japanese anemones, gauras, bushy salvias, Magellan fuchsias, Kaffir lilies. They are particularly interesting when paired with grasses: Carex, Stipa, and Pennisetum. Chrysanthemums also make good cut flowers, lasting well in a vase. Consider using taller varieties to create autumn flowerbeds at the base of deciduous shrubs that reflect their yellow, red, and orange autumn foliage.