Did you know? The mum is both an annual and perennial.
Depending on your climate and how you care for it, Mums can make an awesome come back the following Fall season. And with proper care, they can withstand the cold temperatures that the winter brings and deliver beautiful color each and every Fall season. It’s usually best to wait until Spring to allow for better root establishment, however, you can plant them in the fall as well. If planting in the Fall, make sure you give them plenty of protection to survive their first winter in the ground. This means resisting the urge to prune them and leaving the dried buds and leaves on the plant after it’s blooming season. Provide them with plenty of mulch to protect their sensitive roots from the cold.
Mums are photoperiodic meaning that they bloom in response to day length. This characteristic easily lends itself to aligning with our Ohio fall season as days get shorter and nights get longer, the mum excels.
There are eight classifications of chrysanthemum: anemone, cushion, decorative, pompon, quill, single, spider and spoon. These classifications are based on floral petal shape and arrangement.
Regular incurve types of mums are the ones most people recognize as traditional football corsage mums. These plants grow tall and form large, ball-like blossoms. Petals are packed into the flowers and curve toward the flower center—which is why they’re called incurve types. Button mums are on the opposite end of the size scale compared to these corsage giants. Button mums tend to form sprays or several stems arranged like a small bouquet. The flowers are small and packed with petals.
Cushion mums are a type of hardy mum or garden mum. They earn their name from the way they form a mound or cushion of bloom. Most cushion mums grow to a shorter height (for mums), reaching 12 to 30 inches tall. The plants are usually tightly branched and don’t need staking. These are the garden mums that form mounds of color in the autumn landscape. Look for cushion mums in a rainbow of hues and assorted flower forms.
Quill types of mums are similar in appearance to spider mums, which have quilled petals that have distinct hooks or coils on the ends. Spider mums, sometimes called Fuji mums, have long petals that dangle from the flowers, much like a spider’s legs dangle from its body. Spider mums are incredibly exotic-looking and a popular choice in bridal bouquets.
How to plant mums:
- Mums will not tolerate dry soil (they’ll die) so stay on top of the watering from the moment you get them. If it’s hard to check the soil, a moisture meter will do the job nicely.
- Choose a full sun location (6 hours of sun per day) with well-draining soil. As much as they can’t tolerate dry soil, neither will they tolerate soggy soil. If planting several, allow 18-inches between plants.
- Hold off fertilizing until spring.
- Water deeply, and continue watering right up until frosts begin.
- Set aside several inches of mulch (compost, ground-up leaves, bark, or straw) to place around the plant after the ground freezes. Snow is also an excellent insulator.
- Resume watering in spring.
- Enjoy your mums throughout the season.
- Give the pot a good watering until it flows out of the bottom of the pot. You may need to add more soil after watering the first time.
