RHYTHMS OF FLOWERING FOR SMALL-FLOWERED CHRYSANTHEMUM IN THE CONDITIONS OF THE SOUTHERN COAST OF CRIMEA

Currently, intensive introduction and breeding studies are carried out in the Floriculture Laboratory of Nikitsky Botanical Garden – National Scientific Centre of the Russian Academy of Sciences (NBG – NSC) on nine main flower and ornamental crops: iris, canna, clematis, daylily, pelargonium, rose, lilac, tulip and chrysanthemum. Garden chrysanthemum (Chrysanthemum × morifolium (Ramat.) Hemsl.) collected by NBG – NSC is of national importance, as it is the largest collection on the territory of the Russian Federation. According to the inventory data for 2022, it counts 179 large-flowered and 209 small-flowered cultivar samples. The garden group of small-flowered chrysanthemums includes cultivars and hybrid forms with inflorescences from 3.0 to 9.0 cm in diameter. The paper presents long-term data of phenological observations for 100 small-flowered C. × morifolium cultivars, included in the collection of NBG – NSC. The terms of initial blossom and duration for the studied cultivars and hybrid forms in the conditions of the Southern coast of Crimea have been established. The rhythmological groups are distinguished by the terms of initial blossom (early: 17 cultivars and hybrid forms that flower on average in early October; medium: 64 cultivars and hybrid forms that flower in mid-October; late: 19 cultivars and hybrid forms that flower in early November) and flowering duration (short–flowering: average flowering lasts up to 6 weeks – 10 cultivars and hybrid forms; medium-flowering: from 6 to 8 weeks – 72 cultivars and hybrid forms; long-flowering: more than 8 weeks – 18 cultivars and hybrid forms).