Plant Guide

Group/Class:  Fonti Series

Description:

Beautiful, large decorative blooms blanket fragrant green, fern-like foliage; mounded plants have a very uniform rounded habit; a lovely addition to autumn patio containers, beds, borders or fresh-cut arrangements

Ornamental Features

Fonti Red Chrysanthemum is smothered in stunning antique red daisy flowers with creamy white overtones and yellow eyes at the ends of the stems from early to late fall. The flowers are excellent for cutting. Its fragrant ferny leaves remain green in color throughout the season.

Landscape Attributes

Fonti Red Chrysanthemum is an herbaceous perennial with a mounded form. Its relatively fine texture sets it apart from other garden plants with less refined foliage.

This is a relatively low maintenance plant, and is best cleaned up in early spring before it resumes active growth for the season. It is a good choice for attracting bees to your yard, but is not particularly attractive to deer who tend to leave it alone in favor of tastier treats. It has no significant negative characteristics.

Fonti Red Chrysanthemum is recommended for the following landscape applications;

• Mass Planting
• Border Edging
• General Garden Use
• Container Planting

Planting & Growing

Fonti Red Chrysanthemum will grow to be about 24 inches tall at maturity, with a spread of 24 inches. It grows at a medium rate, and under ideal conditions can be expected to live for approximately 10 years. As an herbaceous perennial, this plant will usually die back to the crown each winter, and will regrow from the base each spring. Be careful not to disturb the crown in late winter when it may not be readily seen!

This plant does best in full sun to partial shade. It does best in average to evenly moist conditions, but will not tolerate standing water. This plant should not require much in the way of fertilizing once established, although it may appreciate a shot of general-purpose fertilizer from time to time early in the growing season. It is not particular as to soil type or pH. It is highly tolerant of urban pollution and will even thrive in inner city environments. This particular variety is an interspecific hybrid. It can be propagated by division; however, as a cultivated variety, be aware that it may be subject to certain restrictions or prohibitions on propagation.

Fonti Red Chrysanthemum is a fine choice for the garden, but it is also a good selection for planting in outdoor pots and containers. It can be used either as 'filler' or as a 'thriller' in the 'spiller-thriller-filler' container combination, depending on the height and form of the other plants used in the container planting. It is even sizeable enough that it can be grown alone in a suitable container. Note that when growing plants in outdoor containers and baskets, they may require more frequent waterings than they would in the yard or garden.