Chrysanthemum Poesie

Chrysanthemum indicum Poesie, also known as Garden Chrysanthemum, is hardy and perennial. It is a bushy herbaceous, deciduous plant with a woody crown. In autumn, it produces many double, yellow-green flowers which turn white with a yellow heart. This chrysanthemum with its soft and subtle shades withstands the cold until the end of autumn with bunches of simple flowers into flower beds deserted by summer blooms.

Chrysanthemum indicum 'Poesie' belongs to the Asteraceae family. It is a cultivar derived from Chrysanthemum indicum, a plant native to East Asia and cultivated since ancient times in China, Japan, and Korea, which gave rise to florist chrysanthemums. The 'Poesie' cultivar was discovered in a village in the Carpathians, and is a stable selection. It rapidly forms a large bush 1m (3ft) high and 75cm (30in) wide. The plant is covered with numerous daisy-shaped double flowers, initially pale yellow tinged with green, then white when fully open, sometimes taking on a pinkish hue if it is very cold in September-October. The overall effect is a bouquet of white and pale yellow flowers, with a touch of green. The flowers are 5 cm (2in) in diameter, fragrant corymbs of 'petals' with narrowly lanceolate bracts. The disc is yellow, and the 'petals' on the periphery are also yellow. The leaves are borne on a petiole 1-2 cm (1in) long. The leaf is oval to elliptical-ovate, 3-7 cm (1-3in) long and 4 cm (2in) wide, downy, pinnate and lobed with a truncate base. Its root system is a shallow rhizome.

Garden chrysanthemums offer interest at a time of year that is less flowery, and blend remarkably well with autumn colours. They can be associated with asters in complementary colours or lightened by cosmos, Japanese anemones, shrubby salvias, and magellanica fuchsias... They are particularly interesting when combined with grasses: Carex, Stipa, and Pennisetum. The Poetry chrysanthemum is a good cut flower, very long-lasting in a vase.

The above-ground parts of Chrysanthemum indicum (flowers, leaves, and stems) are part of Chinese pharmacy, used in traditional medicine for the treatment of dizziness, symptoms of hypertension, and several infectious diseases.