Chrysanthemum × morifolium 'Touchdown Orange' – 'Touchdown Orange' Garden Mum

Energize your autumn outdoor decor with the warm, vibrant glow of the 'Touchdown Orange' garden mum. This striking variety forms a dense, robust dome completely blanketed in rich pumpkin-orange and amber-bronze double blooms. Perfect for enlivening patios, entryways, and garden borders well into late autumn, it instantly creates an inviting, festive seasonal display.

• Foliage : Dense, aromatic, lobed dark green leaves providing a lush textural backdrop before dying back in winter.
• Flowering : Multitude of rich pumpkin-orange and bronze double flowers covering the entire canopy continuously from late summer through late autumn.
• Light : Full sun to ensure tight, compact growth and maximize colour saturation.
• Habit : Naturally rounded, compact, and dome-shaped bushy mounding form.
• Growth : Rapid growth rate, reaching a balanced mature size of 45 to 60 cm in height and spread.
• Soil : Rich, organic, moist, and well-drained soil; avoid standing water around the root zone.
• Temperature : Hardiness zone 5 (grown predominantly as an autumn annual or cold-hardy perennial with winter protection).
• Resistances : Excellent tolerance to brisk autumn temperatures and light frosts.

• Types of use : Ideal for decorative patio containers, front porch arrangements, autumn mass plantings, and garden borders.
• Decorative advantages : Creates a warm, eye-catching focal point with its uniform dome habit and luminous orange floral display.

• Watering : Water regularly at the base of the plant to keep the root ball consistently moist without wetting the blooms.
• Fertilization : Apply a balanced water-soluble flowering fertilizer when flower buds form to prolong blooming vitality.
• Pruning : Deadhead spent flowers regularly to maintain a neat and vibrant appearance throughout the season.
• Planting : Plant in late summer or early autumn, spacing plants 45 to 50 cm apart in compost-enriched soil.
• Winter protection : Apply a thick layer of mulch around the crown and install protective fabric if overwintering in-ground, or move containers into a frost-free shelter.

(syn. Dendranthema × grandiflorum)