Chrysanthemums and Dahlias, What’s the Difference Between of Them?

Chrysanthemums (Chrysanthemums spp.) and dahlia (Dahlia spp.) are look alike. Some people actually often call chrysanthemums dahlia and vice versa. While it is true that they look similar, especially when it comes to the appearances, they are actually two different things and they have a few key differences. What are these?

The first difference of chrysanthemums and dahlias is history. Chrysanthemum is known to be native to China. It has a long history. It even included in the writings of Confucius. Not only China, this plant is also popular in Japan and is the symbol of Japan’s emperors.

Meanwhile, dahlia is native to the warm and sunny climate of central Mexico. The Aztecs loved to grow this plant and get the tuberous roots. In the 1500s, the explorers from Spain took tubers back to Europe. In past only the upper class enjoyed this plant but today this plant has become a plant commonly found in gardens and has been accepted by many people.

Contrary to the popular beliefs, chrysanthemums and dahlias differ in their appearances, even though they may look similar depending on the cultivar. These two have pompon cultivars with small and circular flowers. When it comes to the color, chrysanthemums tend to have the autumn colors such as yellow, gold, purple, orange, and pink while dahlias bloom in all colors with the exception of blue. If you cannot spot the difference, you can look at their leaves. Chrysanthemums usually have delicate and lacy looking leaves with a lot of lobes while dahlias usually have ovate leaves with pointed tips and slightly serrated edges.

Aside from the history and the appearance, the method to care is also different. Both chrysanthemums and dahlias do not tolerate cold weather. For your information, chrysanthemums have deeper and non tuberous roots and usually overwinter really well in the cold areas. There is a possibility of the hybrids to tolerate cold. On the other hand, dahlias produce shallow and tuberous roots. It is also possible for them to get through the winters as long as the gardeners lift and store the roots in the autumn.

Despite having some similarities, chrysanthemums and dahlias can be easily told apart as they are different. If you want to know the other differences of these two plants, you might want to check out this one below:

It should be easy for you to tell which one is chrysanthemum and which one is dahlia if you read everything well. Feel free to ask the professionals if you still have a hard time spotting the difference.