CHRYSANTHEMUM." Chrysos" is Greek for gold," anthos" for flower. Chrysanthemums have been cherished in China for 500 years. Why are people snobbish about hardy chrysanthemums? For me they are essential, cottage garden plants, filling the garden with colour from October through to December. 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. These fall landscaping flowers are sometimes planted as annuals but can be kept as a perennial plant with proper care. Most garden mum plants are perennials through USDA plant hardiness zones 5-9.
To prepare mums for winter, add a thick layer of 3 inches of mulch surrounding the root zone. Add vibrant late summer and fall color to your flower beds with mums. Also called chrysanthemums, mums are an easy-to-grow, low maintenance perennials that provide late season color when many other perennials are done flowering for the season. In the fall, flowers cover the plants creating a vibrant display.
These sun-loving perennials are so big, they can be used like small shrubs to line a walkway. Mums prefer well-drained soil and a sunny location. Mum plants can be planted in partial shade, but perform best with several hours of direct sunlight daily. 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. 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. 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. The name "mum" is the shortened version of Chrysanthemum.
From the basic yellow colors of mums, plant breeders and gardeners have produced mums with an array of colors and flower shapes. Mum plants come in white, yellow, gold, bronze, red, burgundy, pink, lavender, and purple. Nature Hills markets mums that are basically called hardy mums. Hardy mums produces flowers after five to seven weeks of short days and thus they are often called fall mums. 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.
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. 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.
While most growers view garden mums as a fall commodity, the possibility of enhancing spring and summer sales should not be overlooked. In the spring, garden mums can be sold as green plants along with perennial crops, or as flowering plants where they can be planted by the consumer to flower again in the fall. Garden mums can also be shaded and grown for markets in July and August. The most common market for garden mums continues to be late summer and fall which will be the focus of this fact sheet. If you plant hardy mums in the fall, they likely won't survive the winter.
Instead, you can try letting the plants go dormant in their pots and keeping them in a cold but frost-free indoor spot like a garage until the following spring. Then you can plant the mums outside in your garden once the soil has warmed up again. You should soon see new growth appearing from the roots if your plant is still alive. Since late August we've all been seeing those so-called "hardy" chrysanthemums offered everywhere for sale, a ubiquitous indication that autumn will soon be following. But unfortunately their "hardy" moniker is inaccurate and misleading; they are bred to perform more like an annual plant and generally can't survive our cold winters. They certainly are eye-catching while they bloom, but they're best relegated to the compost bin once their blooms have faded.
It seems as soon as the air cools, signaling the coming of fall, garden centers begin showcasing full mounds of brilliant red, yellow, and violet flowers. Chrysanthemums, or mums, are a staple in fall gardens. Mums are a national symbol of fall abundance, and this herbaceous and hardy perennial is an easy addition to give a gorgeous pop of color in your fall garden landscape. With a little understanding and a few simple tips, you can have a lush, beautiful fall chrysanthemum garden display to help celebrate the changing of seasons. Tall hardy mums will also need to be pinched back beginning in late spring when the plants are about 6 inches tall and continued every two to three weeks. Shorter varieties will not need pinching to keep plants compact, but pinching can be done to delay flowering.
If you want to avoid this hamster wheel of fall color hassle, consider planting perennial mums – winter hardy chrysanthemums – in the landscape beds instead. Johnson's Nursery carries 5 of the Mammoth® Series , introduced by the University of Minnesota. Like most plants coming out of Minnesota, they are very cold tolerant and have a much better chance of surviving winter than their less expensive counterparts.
Even better, they have been bred so you don't have to pinch them back during the summer for a bushy appearance. Nestle a pumpkin next to your perennial mums for the perfect harvest time landscape. Perennial mums, on the other hand, should be planted directly into your garden bed in the spring. Though they sometimes have smaller flowers, they'll provide autumn color to your garden year after year. However, they do require more maintenance throughout the summer. Like annual mums, you'll get the best blooms if they're planted in full sun, but they will tolerate partial shade.
This encourages them to grow fuller and bushier, and flower later into the season. If you want fall flowers on your mums, you will need to trim the plants back periodically throughout the summer. Start when the plants are about 4 to 5 inches tall and repeat every 2 to 3 weeks until about mid-July.
This will cause the plant to get stocky and bushier, and by late summer, it should be covered with flower buds. 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. While many of these Mum varieties are indeed hardy, they are unlikely to overwinter in our northern gardens.
This is because they are entering the winter in a weakened state. Growers pamper them in greenhouses throughout the season. In fall, when the plants are supposed to divert energy into root development to survive the upcoming winter, growers pump them with fertilizer to produce a profusion of flowers.
Field-grown mums are limited to direct sales to the consumer since they are dug at the time of the sale. Retailers expect flowering garden mums to be available in mid- to late-August through mid-October. Producers can also explore opportunities for production of new or unusual mum varieties to differentiate their product in the local marketplace.
A strong market exists for garden mums because garden centers desire an inexpensive flowering potted plant to accentuate fall landscape plant sales. When planting mums in the fall, it is best to plant them before they start flowering in early September. Planting them before or during bud stage ensures that their energy is not completely going to their flowers yet. Adding a thick layer of mulch can help maintain an even soil temperature throughout winter by providing extra plant protection.
Do not prune them back after frost has turned them brown. Many gardeners plant their hardy mums too late in the fall for them to overwinter successfully. This displacement is called frost heave or heaving. If hardy mums experience frost heave, roots can freeze , along with the plant crown or main growing point. Everyone is familiar with the garden mum; we sell tens of thousands of them every fall.
Nothing says "fall is here" better than a couple of mums at your front door, although you will have to bend over and listen closely to hear them. That's why we grow them and sell them through our annual department. No one expects them to survive and thrive from year to year. The chrysanthemum growing rate depends on many variables.
Different varieties feature different growth rates and mature size. Plants grown from seed may take several years to reach their full growth potential. Mums grown from already-established garden center plants and division have a head-start on the growing season. Taking proper care of mums through watering, fertilizing and pinching increases the fullness and growth capabilities of the plant.
It can be tempting to plant mums closely together. Smaller, spring mums don't seem to fill out a garden space as well. However, keep in mind that by fall, most properly planted mums will reach up to 3 feet in height and width. Like many perennials, mums will often become larger each year. Even if your flower bed looks a bit bare when you first plant your mums, in time it will fill in.Spacing mums properly is essential for plant health. Plants that are too crowded compete for nutrients, have root system issues, attract pests and suffer from disease.
Following the plant spacing directions for your chrysanthemum variety increases the health of your garden and protects your investment of time and money. Many mums bloom throughout the fall months, but some species will provide blooms from late spring through the fall. In some cases, mum season varies according to the vagaries of the weather.
There are perennial varieties, and if those are planted early enough, they can usually be counted on to last through the cold months and bloom for years to come. Planting these specimens in the garden in late summer or early fall does not guarantee sufficient time for the plants to become established. The repeated freezing and thawing of the soil will heave the plant out of the ground and kill the roots. For fall-planted mums to have a better chance of survival in cold areas, you need to give the roots andcrownof the plant extra protection. First, leave the foliage on the plants until spring. Then, either mulch the plants heavily with at least 4 to 6 inches of mulch or dig up a pot, and move the plants to a more protected spot in the garden for the winter.
If you choose to move the plants, do so before the first hard freeze. Whenever possible, irrigate garden mums automatically . Overhead irrigation is satisfactory and inexpensive; but the umbrella effect caused by the leaves and the effect of wind results in a lot of wasted water. To prevent foliar diseases always water early enough in the day to allow the foliage to dry before evening hours.
Regardless of the watering system you use, do not allow plants to wilt particularly during the time before the lateral shoots from the second pinch are at least one inch long. It is critical to keep plants actively growing in the early stages. Plants that undergo water stress are more likely to initiate premature flower buds.
Chrysanthemums often appear for sale at your local garden center or grocery store long before summer is over. But hold onto your pumpkin spice latte, should you buy these seasonal plants just yet? A favorite for outdoor fall decor, mums burst into bloom just when many other summer-flowering plants like zinnias and petunias start winding down in the cooler autumn weather. That's why a few potted mums perched on your porch seems like a no-brainer for transitioning from summer into the next season. But don't be in too much of a hurry if you want your plants to last. Even though retailers start selling mums well before fall begins, you may want to hold off on buying them just yet.
