Chrysanthemum
The workhorse of the everyday flower shop — decades-long vase life, wide colour range, and modest pricing. Disbud chrysanthemums (single bloom per stem) have been elevated by contemporary Japanese florists into a design flower rivalling roses. Culturally sensitive: chrysanthemums are the funeral flower in France, Italy, Belgium — avoid for celebration bouquets in those markets.
| Family | Asteraceae |
|---|---|
| Origin | East Asia; commercially grown worldwide |
| Peak season | September, October, November |
| Availability | all year |
| Stem length | 40–80 cm |
| Vase life | 10–21 days |
| Colors | white, cream, yellow, orange, peach, pink, red, burgundy, purple, green |
| Price tier | budget |
Recut on a diagonal, place in fresh water. Chrysanthemums have exceptional vase life among cut flowers — no special conditioning needed.
- •Longest vase life of any common cut flower
- •Change water every 3 days, recut at each change
- •Remove leaves below waterline to prevent bacterial growth
52 named chrysanthemum cultivars from the Lacy Bird master catalogue — each a distinct commercial variety.
Entries marked ✦ come from the Acanta master catalogue — the shared database of cut flowers, forms, colours and named varieties that florists and studios build on. The rest are our editorial genus reference. What is Acanta →
Bouquet Builder — by Lacy BirdDesign the bouquet. See it as a photo.
Botanical reference
- Also known as
- mum, spray mum, disbud chrysanthemum, Chrisanthemum, Dendranthema, Hulteniella, Leucanthemum
- Distribution
- Altay, Amur, Bulgaria, Buryatiya, Central European Russia, China, China North-Central, China South-Central, China Southeast, Chita
- Cold storage
- 0–1 °C
- Ethylene sensitivity
- low
Open-data sources: GBIF, Wikidata (CC0/CC BY), USDA Agriculture Handbook 66 (public domain)
Frequently asked questions
When is Chrysanthemum in season?
Chrysanthemum peaks in September, October, November, and florists can usually source it all year. Availability shifts by region and greenhouse supply.
How long does Chrysanthemum last in a vase?
Expect 10–21 days with proper conditioning — a clean vase, fresh water every couple of days, flower food, and a cool spot away from ripening fruit and direct heat.
What can I use instead of Chrysanthemum?
Good substitutes for Chrysanthemum include Dahlia, Aster. Match on look, colour and season — our substitute finder ranks the closest alternatives.
What does Chrysanthemum symbolise?
Chrysanthemum is associated with longevity, joy, loyalty (varies by culture — funeral flower in France, Italy, Belgium).
How do you care for cut Chrysanthemum?
Longest vase life of any common cut flower
Related flowers
Free to quote and cite with attribution and a link back, for non-commercial and editorial use (blogs, journalism, classrooms, research).
Lacy Bird Flower Encyclopedia — “Chrysanthemum”. https://lacybird.com/flowers/chrysanthemum/<a href="https://lacybird.com/flowers/chrysanthemum/">Lacy Bird Flower Encyclopedia — Chrysanthemum</a>