plant 101: hardy mums
Chrysanthemum morifolium
don’t leave your outdoor planters empty for over half the year! after summer annuals are spent, create your own cool-season flower beds or mixed pots & hanging baskets with an array of cold-loving plants to brighten those long winter days.
choosing a site & planting mums
plant mums in full sun to part shade for best flowering. hardy mums prefer rich, fertile, well-drained soil for healthy root development. to ensure well drained soil at planting time, amend with pine soil conditioner & compost. one bag will plant 3-6 mums or work one bag into 15-20 sq.ft. of bed.
it’s important that mums develop strong roots before winter. to encourage strong root development use 1/4 cup bone meal per mum when planting.
space mums 18-24” for the fullest effect. always plant mums at the same depth which they are planted in the container they come in or 1” higher.
mulch mums with grade ‘A’ cypress mulch or pine mulch. mums may need to be divided every other spring.
feeding
use bone meal at planting time.
osmocote slow-release fertilizer should be used at planting time.
supplement osmocote with water soluble fertilizer such as jack’s all-purpose or monty’s joy juice.
pinching
in spring, begin tip-pinching your emerging mums when the new growth is 4-6” tall. keep pinching off half of the new growth when new shoots are about 3-5” long. this will encourage more compact, bushy plants with more blooms. stop pinching in mid to late july so that the plant will set buds.
feed and water mums regularly throughout the growing season (may thru august).
overwintering
after several hard frosts, you may cut back the foliage. otherwise, wait until spring and remove old mum stems with a rake or by hand.
*helpful hint:
mums dislike wet roots during the winter & spring. always watch for moisture collection under the mulch, particularly after winter snow melts & very early in spring during thaws & rainy periods. if the soil seems very wet, you should pull back the mulch around the mums to allow the soil to dry and avoid root rot.
with a little creativity & knowledge of cool-season plants, you may extend the "colorful season” by several months. mums bloom anytime between august & november and may be planted into flower beds, between shrubs & trees, in containers alone or mixed with other cool season grasses, perennials, annuals, & herbs.
