No other plant represents the fall season as well as the hardy garden chrysanthemum. Many hardy garden mums have been sold recently because of their array of colors, including yellow, bronze, pink, purple, and white. Many people buy these mums with no intention of planting them as perennials, but for their color only, and then toss them when they finish blooming. I understand this practice and have done it myself. I will use mums in a couple of my container gardens just for some fall color.
One thing I want to share with you is that mums need rich, well-draining soil to survive. Heavy soil can lead to rotting roots and the plant’s demise before it even gets started.
Chrysanthemum Tip and Tricks
Here are more informative tips to help you enjoy mums for years to come:
- Planting: Mums need to be planted in a sunny location. Plant the mum in fertile, well-drained soil. Add compost at the time of planting. In addition to compost I recommend adding Espoma Bio-Tone to the soil at the time of planting. Mums, in the fall, do not need any other fertilizer until they begin to grow the following spring. Keep your garden mums’ soil moist as winter approaches.
- Fertilizing: During the growing season, incorporate into the soil Espoma Flower-Tone as the suggested food for the mum.
- Pinching: To encourage branching and the development of a compact bushy plant, it is very important to pinch back your garden mum in the spring as soon as the new growth is 4 to 6 inches tall. Keep pinching through the end of July. This practice will develop a sturdy plant and full of flowers for the fall.
- Winter: Be sure to give the garden mum winter protection. Fallen leaves make a good covering as well as using evergreen branches from your Christmas tree or greens. You want this “covering” to be light and not trap moisture that could rot the roots and you want to remove this covering once spring arrives. Also, wait to add this protection until we have had several frosts.
Come see us. Our FALL FESTIVAL is under way now. We have everything you need to decorate your landscape, porch, patio, balcony for fall. In addition to mums, we have a great selection of winter hardy pansies, pumpkins, exotic gourds, straw, corn stalks, and so much more. Stop by our online shop and look at the FALL DECORATING PACKAGES that are now available to order on line, with three different levels of porch packages.
FALL IS FOR PLANTING A LITTLE HAPPINESS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!