This is one of a new series of posts based on real questions I have been asked. Feel free to add to the answers or include your ideas and experiences

i recently had an enquiry about chyrsanthemums. The person had grow a cutting from a stem in a bunch of chysanthemums and planted it in the garden where it finally bloomed in November but had grown to more than 2m high. This is different to the ‘pot mums’ you can buy for autumn display in the garden.

It opens up a whole can of worms because chrysanthemums, which have been cultivated for millennia, are a complicated lot and they are classified in many different groups. Those used for commercial cut flowers and potted flowers for temporary house plants (as opposed to autumn potted plants for garden use), that are available all year round, are late-flowering chrysanthemums. They are more or…