Maintaining Your Mums

Chrysanthemums, or mums, are one of the easiest plants to grow in a garden or container. That is the very reason that in my family they are a traditional house warming gift. They can do well in the container and then easily be transferred to part of your landscaping to remind you of the gift giver every time you see the plant. Use these simple tips and you can have the best mums on the block.

All mums really want is a half to full day of sunlight, water and well drained soil. If you are choosing your own mum for a houseplant or addition to your landscape, rather than dealing with a gift, then be sure to pick the healthiest specimen you can. The healthier the plant is to begin with, the better it will do in the long run. For the longest lasting bloom I suggest picking a plant full of buds, rather than going for the instant satisfaction of color in your garden that a fully blooming mum might provide you with. Check for pest or disease problems as well as yellowing or browning leaves that might indicate an issue or problems in it earlier treatment. However, if you find a surprise problem after you get the plant home, do not panic. Mums are extremely hardy and can survive just about anything.

When planting your mum outdoors, I suggest doing so in the morning hours, so that the new plant can receive a full day of sunlight. When digging the hole for your mum, it is best to make the hole as deep as the mum's container but twice as wide. Add some peat moss, manure or compost to the soil that will surround the newly planted mum, and remember to loosen the soil around the mum's roots before planting firmly in the ground. Try to plant the mum to the same depth in the ground as they were in their original pot. In the first year the planted mum will need weekly watering, and occasional fertilizing if you are so inclined, but once it has become established the mum will only need water in extreme conditions.

Trim back your mums once they are planted in your garden or landscape at least twice a year. The first trim should take place when the stems are six to eight inches tall, and then every few weeks as the growth continues. Do not get too carried away with the trimming, but use it to keep your mum shaped the way you want it and a size that will be manageable when the blooms start coming. I usually time my trimmings with holidays, such as Memorial Day and the Fourth of July, since the growth and timing seem to fall right every year, and it is an easily remembered tradition. Stop trimming as summer ends, since that is when the growth of the mum will shift to creating the flowers rather than the greenery. If you do not trim your mum back, the flowers tend to be smaller and the mum tends to collapse under the weight of water and the blooms in the fall.

To keep the mum happy and healthy, you can also divide and transplant your mums every few years. This will allow the mum to continue to create new roots and growth. When transplanting, divide the mature mum into sections and plant the outside portions of the mum, which tend to be the healthiest and vigorous growing portions, while discarding the center clump. Not only does this allow your mum to continue a healthy life, it can also help continue the color of that mum through the rest of your landscape as the years progress.

If you want to keep your mums in a container, that is fine. But there are still some things you will need to do. If the plant comes in a decorative wrapper, remove it as soon as possible to allow for proper drainage. Potted mums need to be watered almost daily, while those in gardens will only need watering in dry or very hot conditions once they become established. With potted mums you will still need to trim back the plant in the spring and summer months, but probably not as much as planted mums. You will also need to remove spent blooms in the fall.

Mums like plenty of sunshine, however if you are keeping the mum pot bound indoors than be sure to keep it out of direct sunlight. There is such a thing as too much of a good thing. You should also try to limit the amount of light the plant receives in the night, as significant amounts of night time light exposure can affect the plant's nature blooming cycle.

Potted mums should be allowed to go dormant, just like their planted counterparts. Once the blooms have faded and the mum has started to fade, it is best to move your potted mum to a porch or other reasonable outdoor location. But do not leave the pot completely exposed to the cold. Surround your container with dry leaves, garden materials, mulch, evergreen branches or even a blanket to help prevent a premature freezing. If you have access to a cold frame, the potted mum would winter well in there. Adding mulch or similar items around planted mums for the cold weather is also advised, but not always necessary.

As the weather warms up and spring makes its arrival, it is time to start watering your potted mum again. Trim back your mum to around 12 inches, less if you want a bushier plant, and remember to keep the soil moist as the plant begins to thrive again.