Do you want to know how to take care of garden mums? Yes, you can grow these bright, beautiful flowers in your garden, especially the types called hardy mums. Taking care of them right means you get lots of colorful blooms in the fall. This guide tells you all about giving your mums the best care so they grow strong and flower well.
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Picking the Right Mum and Place
Before you start, know that not all mums are the same. Some mums sold in fall are grown just for a quick show. They look nice but may not live through winter in your garden. These are often called florist mums.
Other mums are bred to handle cold weather. These are called hardy mums or garden mums. If you want your mums to come back year after year, look for types labeled as hardy. Growing hardy mums means choosing the right kind from the start.
Deciphering Hardy vs. Florist Mums
It’s key to pick a hardy type if you want a plant that lasts. Hardy mums have roots that can survive the cold ground. Florist mums often have less strong root systems and might not make it through winter outside. When you buy, ask if the mum is a hardy garden variety.
Grasping Sunlight Requirements for Chrysanthemums
Mums love the sun. They need at least 6 hours of direct sunlight every day. Sunlight helps them grow strong stems and make lots of flower buds. If they don’t get enough sun, they can get leggy, grow fewer flowers, and the flowers might not open well. Pick a spot in your yard that gets sun for most of the day.
Finding the Best Spot
Choose a place that gets lots of sun. The soil should drain water well. Mums don’t like having wet feet. A spot with morning sun is great because it helps dry dew off the leaves, which can stop some diseases. Avoid places where water pools after rain.
Getting the Soil Ready
Good soil is key for happy mums. The best soil for mums is loose and drains well. It should also have good stuff in it that plants like to eat.
What Kind of Soil Do Mums Like?
Mums grow best in soil that has a mix of sand, silt, and clay, with lots of organic matter mixed in. Organic matter is things like compost or old leaves. This helps the soil hold just enough water but still lets extra water drain away.
Making Your Soil Better
If your soil is hard clay or very sandy, add compost. Compost makes clay soil looser so water can drain. It helps sandy soil hold a little more water and nutrients. Mix in about 2 to 4 inches of compost into the top 6 to 8 inches of soil before planting.
Planting Your Mums
The best time to plant hardy garden mums is in the spring. Planting in spring gives their roots lots of time to grow strong before winter comes. You can plant them in the fall, but spring planting gives them a better chance to survive the first winter.
When to Plant
- Spring: Plant after the last frost. This is the best time for the roots to settle in.
- Fall: You can plant mums that are blooming. But they might not have enough time to grow roots strong enough for winter, especially in colder places. If planting in fall, do it at least 6 weeks before the ground freezes.
How to Plant
- Dig a hole about twice as wide as the mum’s pot. The hole should be as deep as the pot.
- Gently take the mum out of its pot. If the roots are circling the bottom (root-bound), gently loosen them with your fingers.
- Place the plant in the hole so the top of the soil around the plant is even with the soil in your garden bed.
- Fill the hole with soil, pressing gently to remove air pockets.
- Water the plant well.
If planting more than one mum, give them space. Plant them about 18 to 36 inches apart, depending on how big the type you picked gets. This gives them room to grow and helps air move around the leaves, which is good for their health.
Giving Mums Water
Watering garden mums the right way is super important. Too much water or too little water can hurt them.
How Much Water Do Mums Need?
Mums need steady moisture. The soil should stay damp, like a squeezed-out sponge, but not soaking wet.
When to Water Mums
Check the soil often, especially when it’s hot or windy. Stick your finger about an inch into the soil near the plant. If it feels dry, it’s time to water. If it feels damp, wait.
How to Water
- Water the soil at the base of the plant. Try not to get the leaves wet, especially in the evening. Wet leaves can lead to diseases.
- Water slowly and deeply. This helps the water sink down and makes the roots grow deeper, which makes the plant stronger.
- Water until you see water soaking into the soil well around the plant.
- Mums in pots dry out faster than mums in the ground. They might need water every day, or even twice a day, when it’s hot.
Mistakes with Watering
- Too Little Water: The plant will droop. Leaves might turn yellow or brown and fall off. Flowers might not open well.
- Too Much Water: The roots can rot. The plant might look wilted, even though the soil is wet. This is because the bad roots can’t take up water.
Aim for consistent watering. This means not letting the soil swing from very dry to very wet.
Giving Mums Food (Fertilizing)
Fertilizing chrysanthemum plants gives them the food they need to grow big and make lots of flowers. Mums are “hungry” plants, but you don’t want to overfeed them.
Why Fertilize?
Fertilizer adds nutrients to the soil that help the plant grow stems, leaves, and flowers.
When to Fertilize Mums
- Start feeding mums in the spring when new growth begins.
- Feed them regularly through the summer.
- Stop feeding in late summer (around August). Giving them food too late can make them put energy into new growth instead of getting ready for winter or blooming.
What Kind of Food?
Use a balanced fertilizer. This means it has a good mix of the main nutrients: Nitrogen (N), Phosphorus (P), and Potassium (K). Look for numbers like 10-10-10 or 15-30-15. The first number (N) helps leaves grow. The second (P) helps roots and flowers. The third (K) helps the whole plant stay strong.
A fertilizer with more phosphorus (like 15-30-15) can help with flowering later in the season, but a balanced one works well for general growth.
How to Feed
- Follow the directions on the fertilizer package.
- Water the soil before you fertilize. This helps protect the roots.
- Spread the fertilizer around the base of the plant, but not right against the main stem.
- Water again after putting down fertilizer. This helps the nutrients soak into the soil where the roots can reach them.
- Liquid fertilizers can be applied every few weeks. Slow-release fertilizers can be mixed into the soil in spring and last longer.
Shaping Mums for Lots of Blooms (Pinching)
This step is super important for getting mums to be bushy and covered in flowers. Pinching mums means snipping off the tips of the stems. This makes the plant grow more side branches, and each branch can have flowers.
Why Pinch Mums?
If you don’t pinch, mum stems grow tall and straight with flowers only at the top. Pinching makes the plant wider and produces many more stems and flowers lower down. It also helps stop the plant from getting too tall and falling over.
When to Start Pinching
Start pinching when the plant is about 6-8 inches tall in the spring.
How to Pinch
Look for the tip of a stem. It will have a few leaves. Pinch or snip off the top about half an inch to an inch, right above a leaf or a set of leaves. You can use your fingers or small scissors.
Keep Pinching
Keep pinching the new growth as the plant gets taller. Every time you pinch a tip, two or more new shoots will grow from where you pinched. Pinch these new shoots when they get a few inches long.
When to Stop Pinching
This is key! Stop pinching around the summer solstice (June 20-22) or no later than early to mid-July. Pinching after this time removes the buds that are forming for fall flowers. If you stop too late, you won’t get blooms.
Think of it this way: Pinching encourages growth. Stopping pinching lets the plant switch to flowering.
Keeping Flowers Fresh (Deadheading)
Deadheading garden mums means removing flowers that have finished blooming. This isn’t just about making the plant look neat; it helps the plant put energy into making new buds instead of making seeds in the old flowers.
What is Deadheading?
It’s simply cutting or pinching off the spent (wilted, faded) flowers.
How to Deadhead
Look for a flower that is starting to fade. Pinch or cut the stem just below the old flower or flower cluster, above the first set of healthy leaves.
Why Deadhead?
- More Blooms: It tells the plant to make more flowers.
- Better Look: It keeps the plant looking tidy and full of fresh color.
- Plant Energy: Saves the plant’s energy for flowering and growing strong roots, rather than making seeds in old flowers.
Keep deadheading regularly as flowers fade during the blooming season.
When to Prune Mums
You might wonder, isn’t pinching the same as pruning? When to prune mums depends on what you’re trying to do.
Pinching is a type of pruning done early in the season to shape the plant and encourage more stems for more flowers.
Larger pruning cuts are less common for mums grown for fall blooms, unless you are cutting back dead parts or shaping the plant more severely in early spring or late fall.
- Spring Pruning: Cut back any old, dead stems from the year before when new growth appears at the base.
- Summer Pruning: This is mostly the pinching you do to shape the plant until July.
- Fall/Winter Pruning: After the plant finishes flowering and the foliage dies back after a hard frost, you can prune the stems down to a few inches above the ground. Some people wait until spring to leave the old stems for winter protection.
Dealing with Pests and Problems
Like most plants, mums can sometimes get bugs or diseases. Knowing about common mum pests and problems helps you fix them fast.
Common Mum Pests
- Aphids: Small, soft-bodied insects often found on new growth or buds. They suck plant sap. Look for sticky leaves or distorted growth.
- Spider Mites: Tiny mites that are hard to see. Look for fine webbing on the leaves and tiny dots (stippling) on the leaves. They like hot, dry weather.
- Thrips: Very small, slender insects that feed on leaves and flowers, causing streaks or distorted petals.
- Leaf Miners: Larvae that tunnel inside leaves, leaving wiggly lines.
- Chrysanthemum Gall Midge: Tiny flies that cause swelling (galls) on leaves or stems.
How to Handle Pests:
- Check your plants often. Catching problems early is best.
- For small numbers, you can sometimes wash pests off with a strong spray of water.
- Use insecticidal soap or neem oil. These are less harsh options. Follow the package directions carefully.
- Keep the area around your plants clean. Remove fallen leaves or plant bits where pests might hide.
Common Diseases
- Powdery Mildew: Looks like white, powdery spots on leaves and stems. It happens when leaves stay wet or there isn’t good air flow.
- Leaf Spot: Dark spots on leaves. Can be caused by different fungi.
- Rust: Small, rusty-colored bumps, usually on the undersides of leaves.
- Verticillium Wilt: A serious soil disease that makes one side of the plant wilt and die.
How to Handle Diseases:
- Choose disease-resistant mum types if you can.
- Water the soil, not the leaves.
- Make sure plants have enough space for air to move between them.
- Remove infected leaves or stems right away. Don’t put them in your compost pile if they are diseased.
- Clean up all dead plant material in the fall.
- Fungicides can help manage some diseases, but preventing them through good care is better.
A healthy plant is better at fighting off pests and diseases. Giving your mums the right sun, water, and food is the first step to keeping them healthy.
Getting Mums Ready for Winter
If you are growing hardy mums, you want them to come back next year. Overwintering garden mums in colder climates takes a little work, but it’s worth it.
Why Overwinter Mums?
Hardy mums can survive cold temperatures. But freezing and thawing cycles, or very cold winds without snow cover, can hurt the roots. Giving them some protection helps them make it through winter.
Steps for Winter Care
- Let them finish flowering: Enjoy the fall blooms!
- Don’t Prune Right Away: After the blooms fade and the plant dies back from a hard frost, leave the stems standing. They help catch snow, which is a good insulator. They also mark where the plant is. You can prune them back to a few inches in late fall after the ground freezes hard, or wait until early spring.
- Mulch for Protection: This is the most important step for overwintering. Once the top inch or two of soil is frozen solid, add a thick layer of mulch around the base of the plant.
What Kind of Mulch?
Use a loose material like straw, shredded leaves, or pine needles. Put down a layer about 4 to 6 inches deep. This mulch doesn’t keep the ground from freezing, but it helps the ground stay frozen once it is. This stops the soil from freezing and thawing over and over, which can push the plant’s roots out of the ground (called heaving).
Important Overwintering Tips
- Good Drainage: Mums need good drainage in winter too. Don’t plant them where water sits.
- Established Plants: Mums planted in spring have a much better chance of surviving winter than those planted in fall, as their root systems are stronger.
- Location: Planting near a building or in a spot that gets snow cover can offer extra protection.
In spring, gently pull back the heavy winter mulch after the danger of hard frost has passed and new growth starts appearing. Be careful not to damage the new shoots.
Enjoying Your Blooms
After all your care, the best part is seeing your mums covered in colorful flowers in the fall. Mums provide one of the last big splashes of color in the garden before winter.
You can leave the flowers on the plant to enjoy outside, or cut them to bring inside. Mums make long-lasting cut flowers for bouquets. Cut the stems in the morning after the dew has dried. Put them in water right away.
Wrapping Up
Taking care of garden mums isn’t hard, but it does need a few key steps done at the right time. Choose hardy types, give them sun and good soil, and water them steadily. Pinching them in spring and summer leads to lots of flowers. Removing old blooms keeps the show going. Protecting them in winter means they can come back to bloom again next year. Follow these tips, and you’ll be mastering how to take care of garden mums and enjoying their beautiful fall colors for years to come.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Q: Will my mum come back next year?
A: If you planted a hardy garden mum variety and live in a climate it can handle, it should come back. Make sure you planted it in spring for best results and added winter mulch in colder areas. Florist mums often do not survive winter outdoors.
Q: Why are my mum leaves turning yellow?
A: Yellow leaves can mean several things. It could be too much or too little water. It might need fertilizer (especially if lower leaves are yellow). Pests like spider mites or aphids can also cause yellowing. Check your watering habits, consider feeding, and look closely for tiny bugs.
Q: Can I plant grocery store mums in my garden?
A: Yes, you can plant them, but they are often florist mums. These types are usually not bred for winter hardiness and may not come back next year in colder climates. Plant them anyway if you like; sometimes they surprise you! For reliable return, buy mums labeled as hardy garden varieties from a garden center.
Q: How often should I water new mums?
A: Water new mums well right after planting. For the first few weeks, check the soil daily. Keep the soil evenly moist but not soggy. Water when the top inch feels dry. Once they are settled and growing, you won’t need to check quite as often, but still water when the soil starts to dry out an inch down.
Q: Do I have to pinch my mums?
A: No, you don’t have to. But if you don’t pinch, the plant will likely grow tall and leggy with fewer flowers, mostly just at the top. Pinching makes the plant shorter, bushier, and gives you many, many more blooms lower down for a fuller look.