The best mums for fall include beautiful orange, bronze, white, yellow, pink, red and lavender chrysanthemums. Look for hardy cultivars or heirloom mums that attract butterflies.
Mums or Chrysanthemum morifolium make beautiful mass plantings with blooms that linger for weeks. Mums have an incredibly tight mounting habit.
If you have neighbors who are also into gardening, divide and share your mums.
I planted a few mums in an area that gets morning sun next to airy ornamental grasses in my Florida yard.
Mums also make lovely container plants or a window box. Here are some tips for growing mums in the fall:
No. 1: Are mums annuals or perennials? Mums can be planted as annuals (once a year), but they are “tender” perennials in some parts of the country. Depending where you live, your mums may survive the winter. For best survival, plant in sp ring, and allow them to become established, mulching and pinching them to encourage growth and blooms.
No. 2: Shapes of Mums: Mums come in different bloom forms. The pompom shape has globe-shape flowers with a lot of petals packed together. The decorative mums have long tightly overlapping petals. The daisy form mums have one row of long petals around a center disk. The spoon mum also has a daisy look but with rolled petals with a flattened spoon-like tip.
No. 3: Trick for growing mums: During the summer, make sure to water your mums. Soak them about twice a week.
No. 4: Tip for how to grow mums: Feed the mums compost in the early spring. Don’t over fertilize or the may become floppy.
No. 5: Tip for how to grow mums: After planning mums in early spring, let the mums reach about 18 inches. Cut them back to about half to encourage the plant to bush out and produce more shoots.
No. 6: Tip for how to plant mums: Plant in the full sun or morning sun in extreme heat climates such as Florida.
No. 7: Tip for how to water mums: Mums like it semi-moist.
No. 8: Tip for how to plant mums: Dig a hole two times the width of the pot. Set top of root ball even with ground level. Fill with planting mix and soil. Firm the ground with your feet. Water. Add layer of mulch.
Mums will attract butterflies and bring color to your fall gardens even when other flowers have long since shriveled to the ground. Whether you plant chrysanthemums in the spring or fall, you’ll find mums easy to grow!
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