Florist mums are large-flower plants with many possible bloom forms, from quilled to pompon to spider and more. Grown in greenhouses and used only as indoor plants, florist mums produce few, if any, underground stolens, which are necessary if the mum is to survive cold weather. Florist mums planted outside are most likely being used as short-term bedding plants that will be removed when the blooms are spent. You can plant a potted florist mum you receive as a gift, and it may grow for the summer, but it will not survive the winter, no matter how much protection you give it.
Garden mums, on the other hand, produce underground stolens and can survive cold better. Most garden mums are perennials in Zones 5 to 9 and much tougher than florist types. Some cultivars are less hardy than others and can be killed by an early spring frost. Mums prefer a sunny spot in the garden with well-drained soil. Avoid locations where water stands after a heavy rain. To get the best bloom on large-flowering types, pinch off all the buds in late May.
This will encourage more compact growth and additional blooms. In northern parts of their range, apply a winter mulch to protect mums from sub zero temperatures. If your mums grow too large, divide them in the early spring every two to three years. After a few years some mums may begin to weaken or die out. Add new plants every year or two to keep the fall color show going.
Chrysanthemums are a classic addition to brighten any autumn garden. Growing mums is not complicated once you learn the basics of chrysanthemum care. The right chrysanthemum flowers for your garden will come from a diverse selection of hardy or garden mums. When growing mums, you'll find plants that are dwarf to giant, in colors from white and yellow to the deepest burgundy and purple. Mums may be planted in either spring or autumn, though fall offers the greatest benefit of avoiding summer heat and should be planted in well-draining soil.
They are adaptable to soil types, but do best in organic soils and prefer a sunny spot in the landscape. The most important technique of how to care for mums is pinching expended blooms. Gorgeous mums in shades of red, yellow, orange, purple, and white pop up everywhere in the fall. I like to use them for autumn displays on my porch, along with dried cornstalks, gourds, and pumpkins. But by the following spring, my plants are usually reduced to clumps of dead stems.
After checking in with a few mum-growing pros, I realized I was planting my mums too late. In fact, garden mums are fairly easy to grow, once you know the following common mistakes to avoid. Plant mums as soon as the soil warms in the spring. From late spring to mid-summer, pinch back the tips and flower buds on all shoots to make the plant bushier and prepare it for a dramatic fall show.
For optimal blooming, the plants should be fertilized regularly throughout the growing season. After the blooms fade, cut the plants down to about 6 inches, and cover them with straw or another dry mulch to protect the roots over winter. Established plants should be lifted and divided every two to three years. Planting chrysanthemum in the spring gives the perennial plant time to establish and adapt to its new garden home. You'll easily find mums in garden centers and nurseries in both fall and spring, but planning ahead is key to successful planting.
Planting in the spring will also result in a bigger bloom the following season. Although some fall mums can survive winter if planted immediately, the odds are much better with spring-planted mums. Mums aren't exactly "pruned," but are instead pinched throughout the growing season. This helps the plant branch out, become fuller and offer more blooms.
When your plant reaches 6 inches tall in the spring, simply pinch off 1 inch of each shoot. Repeat this every 2 to 3 weeks until early summer.Deadhead spent blooms throughout the fall for an extended bloom time. Once the plant has died in the winter, resist cutting it back. Research reveals that allowing it to die back naturally over the winter produces a stronger plant. Simply clean up the dead stems and foliage in the spring. Amy Enfield, a horticulturist for Miracle-Gro, says garden mums should be planted outdoors by late summer or early fall, so the roots have time to form before the soil freezes.
Also known as hardy or Belgian mums, garden mums are sold in garden centers and nurseries, and they're perennials in USDA Zones 5 to 9. But even when they're planted at the right time, they need a few other things, like excellent drainage. Enfield adds, "There's no guarantee they will survive the winter, particularly the further north you live in the U.S."
That's what you'll get when you put a generous helping of chrysanthemums in your flower border or containers. Generally sold in ready-to-bloom form, mums provide a fall finale of color to any setting. They come in a wide variety of flower colors and shapes, from small button-sized blooms to giant corsage-worthy flowers.
Mum colors include white, yellow, pink, orange, red, burgundy, cream, salmon, and bi-color. There are also dwarf forms that grow just 8 to 10 inches tall and standards that can reach 3 feet in height. Mums are very popular with bees and butterflies, too. Plants should be inches apart to allow for good circulation and to cut down the chances of powdery mildew. When the plants come up in the spring, let them grow to about 4 inches tall and then pinch the top off each shoot, leaving about 3 to 4 leaves on the stalk.
Do this about every other week or so until the July 4. When you stop pinching them, they will set flower buds on well-formed, compact plants. You can keep the plants attractive by deadheading spent flowers. Do not cut the plants to the ground at the end of the season. I know it looks ugly, but the crown of the plant is protected by its dead stalks. Add some mulch around the plants and wait until spring to remove the old plant material.
That said, Id like to give you some some tips to boost your chances of keeping mums as perennials. Avoid planting them in areas subject to cold, drying northerly or northwesterly winds. Plant cold-hardy mums, like those with cultivar names beginning with Minn. Stop fertilizing plants by the end of July to discourage new growth late in the season. To promote roots that are well established by winter, keep the soil moist, but not soggy, throughout the fall.
After the soil freezes, add several inches of a loose mulch, such as straw or hay, around the plants to a depth of several inches. Wait until spring to cut the plants backthe stems will protect the crown . I've also had success overwintering mums in containers by putting them in an unheated garage and keeping the soil barely moist. Best grown in humusy, fertile, consistently moist, well-drained soils in full sun.
Tolerates very light shade, and appreciates some afternoon protection from the hot sun in southern climates. Pinch stems back as needed from late spring to mid-summer (e.g., Memorial Day to the 4th of July) to control height and to encourage bushy vegetative growth. For best bloom, feed plants several times during the growing season. Cut plants back to 6" after flowering and mulch (e.g., straw or evergreen boughs) for winter.
Divide as needed (usually every 2-3 years) in spring or fall. In cold winter climates such as the St. Louis area, plants given winter protection will usually survive, but not always. Winter hardiness can vary considerably from year to year and from location to location within the same hardiness zone. Chrysanthemum 'Sundance Yellow' will add a burst of renewed color to your fall containers and borders. 'Sundance Yellow' is a decorative mum and it's rich golden yellow color holds up throughout the season. It is an excellent addition to your window boxes and containers and will bring back life to your fading landscapes.
It will also provide a late-season source of nectar for butterflies, so be sure to add some of these fall-blooming gems to your landscape. Garden mums prefer full sun, but will tolerate light shade, especially in hotter climates. They also need adequate amounts of water, so be sure to keep them moist. They will thrive with a weekly application of a water soluble fertilizer when in bloom.
Although garden mums can be grown as a perennial depending on the hardiness zone they are located in, they do tend to perform as annuals in northern areas of the country. Dendranthema x grandiflorum 'Michelle Gold' is a beautiful golden yellow Hardy Mum with a daisy flower form. For best flowering, pinch the growing tips of chrysanthemums several times during the season up until the first week of July. This pinching will ensure a more compact and floriferous plant.
Mulch garden mums heavily in the fall to ensure winter survival. If you plant mums in the spring or treat them as perennials, you will need to pinch back new growth to form dense plants with numerous blooms. Pinch new growth back from the top about ½ to 1 inch approximately every 4 weeks after the plant is 6 inches tall until early to mid July. Do not pinch plants after this time, as you will be removing flower buds!
You can time fertilizer applications with your pinching routine. Perennial mums will spread rapidly and will need division every few years. Garden mums (Chrysanthemum spp.) are herbaceous perennials in the daisy family and are stalwarts of the flowering autumn garden.
When garden centers sell blooming potted mums in the fall, they are usually used as annuals and discarded when the blooms fade. And when gardeners try to transplant these mums into the ground late in the season, chances are they won't make it through winter and become perennial. Chrysanthemums flower in an incredible range of different colours. Flower shapes can vary, too, from reflexed, single or pompom and more. Spray chrysanthemums form a number of flowerheads on one stem and are often grown under glass for cut flower production. Early-flowering chrysanthemums can be planted in ornamental borders and will flower from late summer to autumn.
Late-flowering chrysanthemums flower in winter and are grown as house plants. For a reliable perennial chrysanthemum, choose hardy garden varieties that can be left in the ground all year round. Otherwise, dig up and store in autumn, as you would dahlias. If you live in a cold climate, it is best to leave the foliage on the plant, even after it has browned and died, to increase the plant's chance of surviving the winter. In spring, you can prune out the dead leaves before the new ones start to develop.
In general, the densely flowering mums that are offered for sale in full bloom in the fall should not be counted on to overwinter. You should find true winter hardy mums offered at garden centers alongside other hardy perennials, available throughout the planting season. Ideally, these should be planted in spring or summer to allow the roots a chance to establish before winter. Good drainage is especially important for successful overwintering. We trim the plants back before shipping to promote bushiness, but any ambitious shoot which is getting ahead of the plant should be tipped back. All growing tips should be pinched back until the 4th of July.
Can be divided in spring if needed or if center of clump is not producing new growth. Mulch for winter protection only in very cold areas and be sure to remove the mulch before the spring thaw. In contrast, some garden centers offer winter-hardy chrysanthemums that truly thrive in this region's landscapes year after year. Known as "Korean mums", these grow more shrub-like as they increase in size during the summer and fall. Most open their flowers no earlier than September and they obligingly endure cold weather and frosts, with many cultivars holding their color well into November.
However, there are varieties that are truly perennial in most climates when planted in the early spring or in the fall several weeks before the first frost. These plants grow fast, and you should have flowers in the first growing season. Bloom times vary with variety and climate from early September through mid-October.
In late summer when other plants call it quits, mums hit their stride. Like poinsettias, they're photoperiodic, meaning they rely on specific amounts of light to send the signal that it's time to start putting on a show. Garden mums are short-day plants and initiate flower buds in response to an interaction of day length, temperature and plant age. On average, garden mums will not start to set buds until the nights last about 10 hours long. Fall planting lessens the chance of winter survival, however, since roots don't have time to establish themselves. This will improve their chances of overwintering and reblooming the next year.
Some plants will even produce a few blooms in the spring before being pinched for fall flowers. Fertilizing your mums gives them an added boost of essential nutrients for the best growth. The primary growth of chrysanthemum plant varieties takes place in spring and early summer. If you plant fall mums, wait to begin their fertilization until the spring. Fall fertilization can actually reduce the hardiness of chrysanthemums to survive cold winters. Finally, keep in mind that the fall mums sold in garden centers nowadays aren't the same kinds of plants sold 20 years ago, Enfield says.
Although garden mums are considered hardy to Zone 5, breeders have developed fall mums with big mounds of showy flowers. This has resulted, she says, in plants that may not be as cold hardy as in the past. So, if your fall-planted mums don't come back like true perennials, just treat them like annuals. Replace them with beautiful, fresh plants when you're ready to do your fall decorating and enjoy their colorful blooms for a season. There are garden mums and florist mums, and the difference is their hardiness. Garden mums are tough perennials you plant outdoors where they can live year round.
Florist mums are used as indoor potted plants and won't survive a winter if you plunk them into your garden in the Midwest. Be sure you are buying the right mum for your purposes. Want a blooming plant to decorate the house for the Thanksgiving guests? Buy that foil wrapped pot of chrysanthemums in the floral section of the grocery store.
