New flowers look faded!

Jay
by Jay
My beautiful maroon chrysanthemum plant now produces flowers which already look faded! Is that normal? Even the new ones have flecks of yellow in them where earlier it used to look like this.
This used to be the colour earlier.
That's a new flower opening and it already has flecks of yellow in it.
This is how most of the flowers look,once they have bloomed. See how faded they look..
  13 answers
  • Douglas Hunt Douglas Hunt on Sep 24, 2013
    Can you add a photo of what they look like now?
  • Jay Jay on Sep 24, 2013
    Will do that Douglas Hunt. Will make a very sorry picture! :(
  • 360 Sod (Donna Dixson) 360 Sod (Donna Dixson) on Sep 24, 2013
    @Jay, pinch one of the flowers off and tap in your hand to see if you have an infestation of thrips or possible some type of borer type bug.
  • Jay Jay on Sep 24, 2013
    Will try that Donna Dixson. Thankyou. I wondered whether the sun was too much for it and placed it under a shade net but still no luck. Even cut off all the older flowers to see if the new ones would be ok but no..
  • Jeanette Jeanette on Sep 24, 2013
    I always cut mine back in July here in TX (upper east) and feed well with fish emulsion. Helps
  • Jay Jay on Sep 24, 2013
    Donna,i tapped the flower,nothing there. Think these plants are not meant for tropical climates and the heat must be causing this change. Like my petunias changed with heavy rain!
  • Douglas Hunt Douglas Hunt on Sep 25, 2013
    Did you buy these already potted and in bloom? It's late October or November in Florida before our temps are really suitable to chrysanthemums, and that could be the case for you as well. They do need full sun.
  • Gwen Mangelson Gwen Mangelson on Sep 25, 2013
    Mums are a full sun plant and it is either bugs or poor soil- did you fertilize it this year?
  • DeAnna Whisenant-Arnold DeAnna Whisenant-Arnold on Sep 25, 2013
    Are they close to a pool? I have noticed many plant flowers in vicinity of my pool have a faded look, even ferns turn to a faded green.
  • Jay Jay on Sep 25, 2013
    So, Douglas Hunt ,you mean the weather must be too hot for them here now? I did buy them potted and starting to flower about a couple of months back. Since my plants are all on the terrace,its very sunny and hot. Actually i was dismayed to see my other mums plants with dried and burnt leaves today. Then ,i realised that they could tolerate being placed in full sun only because we had heavy rains for last few weeks. Rains stopped three days back and they just couldn't take it. Moved them all under my green shadenet and deadheaded a lot of burnt leaves. Wonder if they will be able to bloom once again. Thankyou.
  • Judy Judy on Sep 25, 2013
    My first thought was sunburn. Mums are an autumn bloomer & some of the big, commercial nurseries force them into bloom early so the flowers can be seen when sold. It may bloom again, later in the year when temperatures cool down.
  • Jay Jay on Sep 25, 2013
    Yes,even my aster plant, though placed under a shadenet,the new flower looks burnt even before its fully bloomed!:( Guess i bought these plants a little too early for our climate.
    • Douglas Hunt Douglas Hunt on Sep 26, 2013
      @Jay I'd say the fault lies with whomever was selling the plants too early, certainly not with you for buying them.
  • Jay Jay on Sep 26, 2013
    Thankyou Douglas Hunt..so kind of you..I had even planted petunias and most of them died with the continuous rain. Now i remember that last year i had started my garden only in November when the climate was just right for all these foreign beauties! Guess,this is how one learns..with experience.:) Will do it right next year!