Here’s How You Can Make Your Potted Mums Last All The Way To Thanksgiving
Chrysanthemums, or mums for short, are the go-to fall flower for your garden. Unlike most other flowers, their blooms provide color up until the cold comes. They come in a range of shades, but yellow, red, and orange are the most popular.
Potted mums thrive in cooler temperatures, so if you want them to last all the way to Thanksgiving, don’t set them outside when the weather is still warm.
That just guarantees your flowers will lose their luster and wither away quickly. Instead, wait for when it’s chillier out to buy your mums.
When choosing your mums at the store, pick a plant with more buds than open flowers. And no matter what, always avoid selecting a plant that’s beginning to droop.
If you’re using chrysanthemums to give your front porch a pop of color before the first frost arrives, you’ll want to buy florist mums. Florist mums are annuals and will not bloom again once the flowers die.
If you’re using mums as a perennial plant, buy garden mums. Plant them in the spring after the last frost so you can be rewarded with vibrant colors later on.
After purchasing your potted mums, repot them immediately upon reaching home. Make sure their new pot is larger than the one they came in so their roots have space to grow.
Mums are happiest in well-draining soil, so it’s best to plant them in a high-quality potting mix that contains organic material.
In addition, they require at least six hours of sunlight per day to produce an abundance of flowers. Too little sunlight, and you’ll have a weak plant on your hands.
Leslie Rodriguez – stock.adobe.com- illustrative purposes only
However, too much sun can cause their blooms to become scorched. Choose your mum’s placement wisely!
Chrysanthemums need to be watered frequently due to their shallow root system. Whenever the soil feels dry, give them a drink.
They may need daily watering if the weather is hot or when the leaves toward the bottom of the plant look limp and brown. Try to avoid getting the leaves wet to keep plant diseases at bay.
If you intend to overwinter your potted mums, apply some liquid fertilizer after they’ve finished blooming. Once the first frost hits, move them inside and remove old foliage.
Clip off dead flowers, but refrain from trimming the stems. Wait until spring to prune the branches to give your mums a better chance of surviving through the winter.
Use straw or shredded mulch to cover the top of the soil. When spring arrives, remove the mulch to allow for new growth.
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