Can heat hurt a crysanthemum?

[dconklin]

I had a crysanthemum that I won at a friends baby shower a few years ago. It was beautiful and would come back each year until last year. I know they are more of a fall flower and the weather was a little wacky here last year. I also know to cut it down at the end of it's season to have it ready for the following year.

It was growing great and looking beautiful but then last year it never came back. It was in a big planter and I am wondering if the weather had anything to do with it. It completely died, started to hollow out in the main stem by the roots and everything

Did I do something wrong or was it maybe the heat and the wacky weather we had in all of 2012? New Jersey did break heat records last summer.

 

[maddie]

I live in a place where it is sunny all the time.. the chrysanthemums flowers in spring continue until fall. I leave them out in the full sun but I have never had problems with them. It was the white mealy bugs that did a couple of my lovely chrysanthemums in. They do need a lot of water when they are in the sun. I water twice everyday when it is hot.

 

[ChanellG]

Lack of water will usually cause a plant to wilt; too much sun /heat can have that effect I suppose, but that would require quite a lot of heat and you would likely have had more damaged plants. I'm guessing you had some kind of pest problem based on your description of what happened with the stems.

 

[nelson castro]

Chrysanthemums grow best and produce the most flowers if they are planted in full sunshine. They respond to plenty of food and moisture. Chrysanthemums should be divided every three to five years to avoid overcrowding and promote maximum flowering. They should be divided in the spring when new growth appears. Dig entire clumps and separate the plants with a sharp, clean knife or spade. Remove all dead and diseased plant parts.

 

[dconklin]

I live in a place where it is sunny all the time.. the chrysanthemums flowers in spring continue until fall. I leave them out in the full sun but I have never had problems with them. It was the white mealy bugs that did a couple of my lovely chrysanthemums in. They do need a lot of water when they are in the sun. I water twice everyday when it is hot.

Would I been able to see the white mealy bugs or are they in the soil? I did water it often enough that I wouldn't think it should have been dried out. I also was careful to not over water it. It was just really odd but we did have the hottest summer on record in NJ too.

 

[maddie]

Mealy bugs are generally on the underside of leaves ..they are small white and leaf shaped like tufts of fur.. .they are really visible if you take a close look at your plants. I am not suggesting that mealy bugs could have killed your plants.. I think i bought a couple of verbenas that were infested and put them along with my other plants.. This seems to have wrecked my garden. I have had to throw out quite a few plants because they have been infested.

 

[dconklin]

Mealy bugs are generally on the underside of leaves ..they are small white and leaf shaped like tufts of fur.. .they are really visible if you take a close look at your plants. I am not suggesting that mealy bugs could have killed your plants.. I think i bought a couple of verbenas that were infested and put them along with my other plants.. This seems to have wrecked my garden. I have had to throw out quite a few plants because they have been infested.

I don't think this is what the problem was if they would stand out like this. I didn't see anything like this but the year before I did see a bunch of black spots on it one day (literally all of a sudden - there one day but not the day before) and got a closer look and they were little bugs. I sprayed a natural spray that I used before and all seemed good. When I found these bugs, it was not the same year the plant died. Maybe the bugs weakened the plant and the following year it just didn't do so well and died? I almost forgot about those bugs and have no idea what they were!

 

[maddie]

I don't think this is what the problem was if they would stand out like this. I didn't see anything like this but the year before I did see a bunch of black spots on it one day (literally all of a sudden - there one day but not the day before) and got a closer look and they were little bugs. I sprayed a natural spray that I used before and all seemed good. When I found these bugs, it was not the same year the plant died. Maybe the bugs weakened the plant and the following year it just didn't do so well and died? I almost forgot about those bugs and have no idea what they were!

Yeah, I had those on my chilly peppers.. and has to cut the plant back leaving just couple of inches of stem above the ground. Now it seem to have come grown back well. I gosh I really hate those bugs the drink the sap of those plants. However I really don't know if they were the cause of your mums dying out. Usually mums grow like weeds and keep spreading all around and it is really difficult to kill them. These hybrids we have now are quite finicky.

 

[dconklin]

Yeah, I had those on my chilly peppers.. and has to cut the plant back leaving just couple of inches of stem above the ground. Now it seem to have come grown back well. I gosh I really hate those bugs the drink the sap of those plants. However I really don't know if they were the cause of your mums dying out. Usually mums grow like weeds and keep spreading all around and it is really difficult to kill them. These hybrids we have now are quite finicky.

It didn't have as much room to spread as I had it in a big pot. But the pot was definitely big enough for it to be comfortable, just not spread far. The plant survived the black bugs that year and the following year it was done for. I got it as a prize at a baby shower but it did survive and bloom nicely for a few years before dying off.

I wonder if next time I get them maybe I should actually plant them in the garden instead of leaving it in a pot? I love the flower and would like to get more.