Saturday, November 15, 2008

Pacific Chrysanthemum


Pacific Chrysanthemum
Ajania pacifica
(a-JAN-ee-uh) (pa-SIF-ik-uh)
Synonyms: Silver and Gold Chrysanthemum, Chrysanthemum pacificum, Leucanthemum pacificum

This plant has been growing at the Estate for many years. It has never really flowered so I was happy to see what the flowers actually look like. They apparently need a very long season to open up and the Connecticut season just isn’t long enough. This plant is a great foliage accent plant and it slowly expands to about 1 foot tall and about 4 feet wide. You can keep them smaller with early summer pinching. The white margins on the leaves are really nice as is the overall form and appearance of the plant.

This is what the plant usually finish the season with in Connecticut. Just buds.

Ajania, which is a new name on me, likes less than fertile soil and good drainage. Mine are growing in kind of a rocky, sandy area and they seem to love it. This particular species is from Japan is one of about 30 that make up the genus. They are several cultivars available now including ‘Pink Ice’ and Yellow Splash’.

We are expecting 1 to 2 inches of rain here today so it is going to be a good day to stay inside and go through some of the camera memory cards that are sitting on my desk. It is really suppose to get cold next week so that will be a farewell to some of the few annuals and mums that have been hanging on.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Beautiful flower! So tiny but a nice addition to the garden. Too bad they don't bloom for you!

S-V-H said...

It's a simple and such a pretty flower! Great shots.

Digital Flower Pictures said...

Hi misti, I am going to keep trying to get it to bloom. I just need a little cooperation from the weather.

susanne, thanks. Any flower this time of year here is appreciated.