Chrysanthemum Orchid Helen

Chrysanthemum 'Orchid Helen', also known as the Garden Chrysanthemum, is a true ode to autumn. It is a variety with amazing, dense, double daisy-like flowers in autumn, various shades of pale pink with a dark pink centre. This garden chrysanthemum forms a compact, rounded bush that is covered from September to October with a multitude of intense carmine pink buds, which open paler pink with salmon and lilac tones. It is a deciduous perennial plant of medium size, quite hardy everywhere which can be grown in flower beds or pots and requires very little care. It only dislikes heavy soils, waterlogged in winter; it needs normal, well-drained soil, moist in summer, and a bright location, avoiding the afternoon sun.

Garden Chrysanthemum 'Orchid Helen' belongs to the Asteraceae family, a cousin of daisies and sunflowers. It is a cultivar derived from Chrysanthemum indicum, a plant native to East Asia, cultivated since antiquity in China, Japan, and Korea, which is the origin of florist chrysanthemums.

This variety 'Orchid Helen' quickly forms a compact, rounded clump consisting of woody-based, leafy, and branched stems, about 50 cm (20in) tall and 60 cm (24in) wide. The flowering extends from September to October depending on the climate, and lasts for several weeks. The plant is covered with numerous daisy-like double flowers, pale pink in the centre, darkening as they bloom. The flowers with a diameter of 3 to 4 cm (1 to 2in), are grouped in clusters called corymbs at the ends of the branched stems. The leaves are borne on a petiole 1 to 2 cm (1in) long, are ovate to elliptical, measuring 3 to 7 cm (1 to 3in) in length and 4 cm (2in) in width, hairy,  and lobed. The root system of this plant is a shallow rhizome. Its above-ground vegetation dries up in winter and regrows in spring.

Garden chrysanthemums offer immense resources at a less floriferous time of year and blend remarkably well with autumn colours. They can be associated with asters in complementary colours or their blooming can be lightened by cosmos, Japanese anemones, gauras, shrubby salvias, Magellan fuchsias, and Cape lilies... They are particularly interesting when combined with grasses: Carex, Stipa, and Pennisetum. Chrysanthemums are also good cut flowers, very long-lasting in a vase. Consider using the taller, more colourful varieties to create autumn flower beds at the base of deciduous bushes that reflect their yellow, red, and orange autumn foliage. The salmon and lilac reflections of 'Orchid Helen' go wonderfully well with the bluish foliage of artemisias and Sedum spectabile and the lighter white blooms.

The aerial parts of Chrysanthemum indicum (flowers, leaves, and stems) are part of Chinese pharmacy. They are used in traditional medicine for the treatment of dizziness, symptoms of hypertension, and several infectious diseases.