Here ’s what to head off so your chrysanthemums will last as long as possible and have the pretty bloom of youth .
Gorgeous garden Chrysanthemum morifolium in shades of red , chicken , orange , purple , and white pop up up everywhere in the crepuscule . apply them forautumn displays on your porch , along with dried cornstalks , gourd , and pumpkins . After the flowers finally fetch up bloom , you might be charm to set them in the garden since most fall Chrysanthemum morifolium areperennials that survive the winter . But by the following spring , your industrial plant may be reduced to clump of dead stems .
After checking in with a few mama - produce pros , we discovered that planting mums late in fall is n’t the best musical theme . In worldwide , garden mum are pretty easy to growonce you know the following common fault to avoid .
Credit:BHG / Kelli Jo Emanuel
Amy Enfield is a alive goods senior scientist for the Scotts Miracle - Gro Company .
BHG / Kelli Jo Emanuel
1. Ignoring the Type of Mum
Also sleep together as brave or Belgian mums , garden Chrysanthemum morifolium are sell in garden centers and nurseries in late summer and fall . They ’re perennials inUSDA zona 5 to 9 . But if you ’re hoping to plant them after you ’re done using them in your twilight porch weed , they probably wo n’t survive winter .
" Garden mums should be planted outdoors by late summertime or other fall so the root have time to form before the soil freezes , " explains Amy Enfield , a live goods senior scientist for the Scotts Miracle - Gro Company . And even when planted at the right time , " there ’s no warrantee they will come through the winter , particularly the further north you live in the U.S. , " she add up . These mammy need excellent drainage , good territory moisture , and peradventure a layer of mulch to improve their chances .
Enfield explains that florist shop mums , the kind sold in the houseplant section of your local grocery storage , are n’t meant to transfer at all . " Unlike garden mums , these aremeant to grow insideas indoor potted industrial plant and are not cold hardy . "
Credit:BHG / Kelli Jo Emanuel
2. Planting in Too Much Shade
Cynthia Drumgool , a potted plant and mum manager with Ball Horticultural , pronounce garden mumsneed fullor partial sunshine . One exception : in very hot climate , mumsbenefit from a bite of shadeduring the hottest part of the day . Otherwise , give them plenty of sun for plentitude of blooms .
3. Over-Fertilizing Your Plants
you could give your plantsfertilizer with nitrogenwhen they ’re starting to grow leaf and branches in spring . But do n’t fertilise once your mums form peak buds , suppose Enfield . Fall mums will benefit from a high - Lucifer plant food that advertise root development .
4. Forgetting to Water Mums
Enfield suppose one of the biggest mistakes you may make with gloaming - planted mums is miscarry to water them . " Days are cooler , the sun is n’t as intense , so industrial plant , even those in container , do n’t dry out as rapidly . However , plant will keep on to necessitate piss until the ground immobilize . "
While you mayneed to water dailyin the summer , water only when the top inch of dirt finger wry to the feeling after the weather cool down . Do the same for potted indoor mums .
5. Cutting Garden Mums Back Too Soon
Enfield advises that youdeadhead your garden mumsin the fall but leave the rest of the plant life alone for as long as possible . drop mums use their leafage to turn sun into vim for forming roots . look until the following spring to do extra pruning or until the stems pall back to the priming coat . Then , curve the mum halt downto about an inch above the terra firma before new growth come along .
6. Pinching Mums Too Late (or Not at All)
If you do n’t nip the acquire wind of your garden florist’s chrysanthemum , they ’ll bloom , but you ’ll have plants with long stems and fewer flush . " Pinching to remove flower bud helps promote the industrial plant to furcate and become full , " Enfield say . " Stop swipe in early July ( no later than mid - July ) and allow the buds to mold and flower . "
7. Not Improving Drainage
Mums wo n’t flourish in grease that drains poorly and stays too soggy . That ’s especially true in cold - winter area , says Enfield . So if you have heavy corpse or compact soil , mix in in somegood - timbre garden soilorcompost to loose itand better the drainage in your planting site .
Finally , Enfield says that thefall mums now sell in garden centersaren’t the same kinds of plant sold 20 years ago . Although garden mums are consideredhardy to Zone 5 , stock breeder have developedfall mumswith big mounds of sporty heyday . This has resulted , she says , in plant that may not be as dusty - hardy as in the past .
So , if your fall - plant Dendranthema grandifloruom do n’t make out back like rightful perennials , handle them as annuals . Replace them with beautiful , refreshful plants when you ’re ready todecorate for falland enjoy their colorful blush for the time of year .
Credit:BHG / Kelli Jo Emanuel
Frequently Asked Questions
If you live where florist’s chrysanthemum are hardy and you plant repeated mum , they should come back every year , but they need to be properly cared for to survive winter .
Yes , according to the ASPCA , mums are toxic to deary . Keep pets away from them to avoid illness .
Pet Care and Animal Poison Control . ASPCA
Credit: William N. Hopkins
Credit: Carson Downing
