Three Perennials that Provide Great Fall Color

Mums (Chrysanthemums) are a very popular plant for fall decoration. Grown as an annual, mums are actually high-maintenance, temperamental perennials. Commonly sold in an eight-inch pot, these mums retail for anywhere between $5-6 each, with a slight discount if you buy three mums at once. Very few, if any, plants can really give Mums a run for their money, as Mums come in such a wide variety of color. Mums hold their color for upwards of a month. Some of the relatively new Pinchless Mums can hold their color even longer due to a staggered bloom. Although Mums cannot be replaced totally in the fall display, there are three perennials that can supplement mums with their fall color, allowing you to save some money in the long run from not having to purchase as many mums each year.

Fall Perennial #1: Sedum: Known for their succulent foliage and fall bloom, Sedums are a time-honored addition to the flowerbed. Sedum plants arise from the ground in the springtime and form a dense well-rounded crown of foliage. Towards the end of summer, the Sedum flower heads begin to show. Bloom time of Sedum begins between late August and mid-September, and usually lasts three to six weeks. Sedum can be pinched in the spring for a more compact plant. Pinching some of the Sedum plants will allow them to bloom later, prolonging the color display. Autumn Joy Sedum is probably the most popular Sedum cultivar. It grows 18-24 inches, forming an attractive green clump in the spring. Blooms start out a light pink, and then fade out into a bronze post-bloom. Matrona Sedum is very similar to Autumn Joy Sedum except the red stems contrast nicely the dark green, red-tinted leaves. The Sedum plant exhibits an even, vase-like growing habit. Flowers are a light pink, with a brief salmon fade before turning brown. Purple Emperor Sedum is a Sedum cultivar valued for its deep purple leaves and stems. Purple Emperor Sedum does tend to grow on the leggy side and need pinching in the spring. Flowers are small, opening a mix of dark pink and yellow, and then fading out into red. Munstead Red Sedum is another cultivar of Sedum with green leaves and magenta flowers. Unlike the other three sedum cultivars, Munstead Red Sedum does not respond well to pinching and blooms well only in rich soil. There is a Sedum cultivar that exhibits a light pink flower as well. Sedum returns every year and the shades of pink fall color supplement mums very well. Sedum plants can be found all season long in your local home depot or garden center. Propagate Sedum by division when the sedum clump is crowded. Stem cuttings can also propagate sedum.

Fall Perennial #2: Asters: Asters come in a variety of colors, from white to violet. Some varieties are pink, red, and purple. Although Asters are native and grow wild on the east coast, often seen blooming along the roadside, they also can be grown in the garden. Unlike the Sedums, Asters are usually offered for sale with the mums. Their narrow leaves and their small, miniature daisy-like flowers characterize asters. The Asters in the garden centers, like mums, have been pinched several times during the growing season for shape. Left alone, Asters grow between 2-4 feet tall and take on a somewhat weedy appearance. The solution is a vigorous pinching program. Pinch the terminal buds every other week, starting in May and going until the Fourth of July. Asters, unlike Sedums and Montauk Daisies, tend to fizzle if not given rich soil and care. Some varieties of Asters are tougher than others. But with a little care, Asters can be very rewarding to the home gardener. Not only do Asters supplement mums, they also add another dimension of color, texture, and character that mums are lacking. Most asters are protected by plant patents, which prohibit the propagation of the cultivar. Propagation of asters is by division and stem cuttings.

Fall Perennial #3: Nippon or Montauk Daisies: Nipponanthemum Nipponicum. (I give its botanical name to eliminate confusion.) Montauk daisies grow to three feet high and produce a stunning fall display of white daisies atop shiny green foliage. The plants are very durable and withstand extreme cold, neglect, and weeds. However, the Montauk Daisies do tend to get leggy, especially if the plant is growing from new wood from the ground. The solution is to begin pinching the terminal buds in May, and do so every two weeks until the fourth of July. The end result of this will be a bushy, orderly plant. After the frost nips the leaves, you can make a choice on how to prune your Montauk Daisies. To not prune at all and let the new wood grow high up off the old wood will result in a floppy plant. To train your Montauk Daisies as a bush, cut the stem about halfway, leaving about nine to twelve inches of stem each year. Within a few years, spring pinching will only be required once, if at all. Montauk Daisies can also be cut back to a couple inches off the ground and allowed to break over again. If this option is chosen, then the springtime pinching will need to happen again. Montauk Daisies are often sold with mums in the autumn. However other garden centers have realized the full potential of Montauk Daisies and sell them all season long as a perennial for $11. There is no plant patent on Montauk Daisies, and these plants propagate well from stem cuttings in the spring.

So these are the three best performing fall perennials that can supplement your mums. Although they can never replace mums, they enable you to save in the long run while providing a wider variety of color and texture to the autumn garden. Most garden centers are aware of the fall demand for these plants and usually stock up on them in autumn.