Ms. Eudora’s Garden Tool Blog

One of the most popular plants for a fall season of garden  beauty is the flowering  mum. Flowering fall mums are often called Hardy Mums partly because they are winter hardy and not at all  difficult to grow and also require very little care.  Mums come in a wide variation of colors, sizes, shape and types.  Easily grown they can be planted in garden beds or containers.  They are usually disease and insect free.  Mums are drought resistant and low maintenance making them very easy to grow.  Mums are generally purchased and planted in late August and into September.

Fall mums prefer to be planted where they will receive a full day of sun, although at least a half day of sunlight will be fine.  Plant them in well draining fertile soil for the best results.  For optimum growth of young plants, plant them 18 to 24 inches apart, while larger more mature plants may be planted closer together, but far enough apart so not to crowd each other.   If you opt for planting in above ground containers they should be planted in the ground before the hard frosts begin.

Never allow your garden mums to wilt, especially newly planted young plants.  New plants should be checked every few days to be sure they are receiving enough water, particularly if they were planted during a dry spell.  Water your new plants thoroughly.

There is no need to fertilize new fall mums the first year.  Wait until the next growing season when new growths begin to appear, and then feed them  with a good plant food once a month until August.

Most mums are winter hardy so keep their soil moist until winter sets in and after several good frosts and the plants have darkened, cut them back to soil level, or they may be left in the ground and cut back when the next growing season starts.

To encourage compact bushy growth, at the start of the new growing season, pinch off about 1 to 2 inches of your mum’s new growth in early spring when they get to be about 4 to 6 inches in height, then again when they have grown another 1 or 2 inches in height, then stop pinching altogether in mid July.  Doing this gives you full bushy plants and large beautiful flowers come fall.

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