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Last Updated: Jan 10, 2007 - 10:15:57 AM |
Planting mums is a great way to add color to your fall garden. They are easy to grow, and provide nice results with minimal effort. Mums are related to the daisy, and come in a rainbow of colors including white, yellow, burgundy, gold and bronze, among other colors. Different colors of mums bloom at different times, so you can coordinate your garden for an interesting effect. In general, expect your whites and yellows to bloom before the darker colors. Mums are available in miniature and full sizes as well to have a variety of heights in your garden. I recommend this website from the Smith College Botanic Garden / for some nice photos and an interesting article on their history cultivating mums.
You can easily plant mums in your garden or in containers, and in fact, once you get blooms, you can easily transplant your mums from garden to flower pot or vice versa without risk of damaging the plant.
Make sure your soil has plenty of organic fertilizer (such as compost) and if needed, you can add a little sand to help the water drain. Plant your mums in partial to full sun and water moderately to avoid rot. You ideally should wait to plant your mums in the spring when the risk of frost has long past.
Mums appreciate being “pinched” when they are about six to eight inches tall, and again when they are a bit bigger, about twelve to fourteen inches. Pinching your mums will produce denser plants with more foliage and more flowers.
In the winter, cut back the dead material and provide your mums a light mulch over the top. As in the growing season, make sure you keep the soil from getting too wet.
Mums can be cultivated from cuttings and seeds, and are readily available at your local nursery. Have fun with this easy to grow flower and enjoy a more colorful fall!
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