Beautifully Grown Fall Mum

Dendranthemums (mums) are favorite plants for outdoor decorating in the autumn season. Fall mums come in a variety of colors from white, yellow, pink, orange, red, bronze, and purple. Blooms attract numerous bees and butterflies.

Plant heights vary, depending on the degree that the greenhouse grower has sheared or sprayed (with growth retardants) the mums. As perennials, mums are reliably hardy to zone 6 (see exceptions below). Plant sizes vary from short pixies at 8 inches to tall 48 inch well-branched plants. Plant widths measure 12-36 inches across.

If you are growing mums, plants may be purchased in early spring and nurtured through the summer months. Plant them in full sun and in moist well-drained soil. Avoid planting them in areas where street and house lights will shine on them at night. Mums bloom poorly without a full night of darkness.

Feed once at spring planting time with a slow-release fertilizer. As an alternative, feed with a water-soluble fertilizer such as Miracle-Gro®, Daniels®, or Jack’s Classic® twice monthly until buds form or through the end of August.

From late spring until mid-July, pinch growing tips back 2-3 inches every two weeks. This will create well-branched plants full of blooms. Do not allow mums to bloom early in the summer, usually a reaction to severe heat or dry soil. Mums should be irrigated during dry spring – summer periods.

To perennialize fall-purchased plants, remove them from the pot and set them in the garden soil by mid-September for their pot-bound roots to knit into the soil. Mulching also helps to protect them overwinter. Do not fertilize fall-planted mums.

After a freeze has killed top growth, don’t cut back plants. Wait until late winter when buds are sprouting near the soil line. At this time you may dig up and divide the tiny plants. Discard the woody center of the crown.

Heirloom or “old-fashioned” mum varieties are back! These tend to bloom very late in the fall and are hardy in zone 5. Some of the best are:

‘Clara Curtis’ – deep pink, daisylike blooms

‘Mary Stoker’- peachy yellow blooms

‘Sheffield’ (aka ‘Sheffield Pink’) – light pink

‘Ryan’s Pink’ – bright pink daisy blooms with yellow centers.

Mums are good garden companions with fall asters and fall sunflowers (Helianthus spp.). These companion perennials require the same care, although they differ in plant heights and widths.