After Tulips, Kashmir Turns to Chrysanthemums to Keep Tourism Blooming Longer

Srinagar | October 5, 2025 As the bright green of summer fades and the chill of autumn begins to settle over Kashmir, a new burst of colour is ready to take its place. The Valley, known for its stunning tulip gardens that attract thousands of tourists every spring, is now preparing to welcome another floral wonder — the chrysanthemum. With its vibrant blooms and long-lasting colours, this flower could help extend Kashmir’s tourism season well into winter. The Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology (SKUAST) in Srinagar has taken the lead by developing the region’s first chrysanthemum garden. The project aims to give the Valley a new attraction during the autumn months, just as the tulip garden transformed spring tourism nearly twenty years ago. Encouraged by the university’s initiative, the Jammu and Kashmir government has also started developing an exclusive chrysanthemum garden at the Srinagar Botanical Garden, located next to the famous Tulip Garden. “After the fall season, the landscape here turns dull and grey, and that’s when chrysanthemums bloom,” said Professor Imtiyaz Nazki, who heads the floriculture department at SKUAST. “Like the tulips brought a new life to spring tourism, chrysanthemums can add charm to Kashmir’s autumn and extend the tourist calendar.” At the SKUAST campus, more than 80,000 chrysanthemum plants are ready to bloom. The flowers are expected to begin blossoming in mid-October and continue until the end of November, or even longer if weather permits. To celebrate the season, the university is planning a Chrysanthemum Festival with the theme “From Gul-e-Lala to Gul-e-Dawood” — symbolising the transition from tulip blooms to chrysanthemum flowers. The festival will bring together students, visitors, and tourism stakeholders to showcase how these flowers can enhance Kashmir’s appeal throughout the year. With over 60 varieties and 20 different colours, each flower offering unique shades, the garden promises to turn autumn’s fading tones into a lively display of colour and fragrance. Officials believe that with the use of polyhouses, the blooming period could even extend to mid-December. Professor Nazki credits his students for the success of this initiative. “Our postgraduate and undergraduate students, who come from different parts of the country, are behind this project. The faculty is only guiding them,” he said. As preparations continue, SKUAST is also collaborating with the Srinagar Municipal Corporation to display chrysanthemums in the city centre. The Ghanta Ghar area at Lal Chowk will be decorated with the flowers and set up as a selfie point for tourists and locals alike. Chrysanthemums, also known as Gul-e-Dawood in Kashmiri, originate from East Asia and Europe and are the national flower of Japan. Each plant can produce hundreds of blooms, and SKUAST’s garden is expected to display around three million flowers this season. By bringing chrysanthemums to the Valley, Kashmir hopes to add a new chapter to its floral story — one where the vibrant beauty of spring continues to live on through autumn, keeping the region in bloom from Gul-e-Lala to Gul-e-Dawood.