Chrysanthemums

Grown as annuals or perennials, they enhance the fall landscape

As the days of summer grow shorter and cool , fall chrysanthemum explode into bloom for a distinguished last to the garden year . In plenteous shades of russet , majestic , cryptical scarlet , soft pinkish or shine gold , the flowers of garden florists' chrysanthemum offer up a glorious full complement to the bounty of the harvest time and the vivid foliage of fall .

Mums ( Dendranthema grandiflora , formerlyChrysanthemum morifolium ) have been arise in garden for hundreds of years , but only in the last decade have breeders condense on making them better works for the abode garden , rather than for the cut - flower industriousness . Mums for landscape use are often called garden mums .

Garden florists' chrysanthemum provide a style to jibe almost any garden . Plant them anywhere that cries out for a spectacular spatter of vividness . They extend the gardening season for weeks , thrive across most of the country and their ethnical needs are wide-eyed .

Many gardeners are accustomed to retrieve of mums as annuals . It is leisurely to spring up them as yearbook , but with some provision , they also can be successfully overwintered in dusty climates for year after year of bloom .

Choosing mums

Garden Chrysanthemum morifolium are photoperiodic , meaning they bloom in reception to shorter days and recollective nights . A night duration of 12 time of day tends to trigger bud formation . coolheaded night temperatures also promote blossom . September through October is when garden florists' chrysanthemum are in their glory , but the flowering season actually begin in late summertime and continues until threatening frost , sometimes as late as November .

single flowers on the industrial plant can last from three to six weeks high-pitched temperatures and lack of piddle shorten the flowering period . Most garden Dendranthema grandifloruom can withstand several weak frosts , but those with white flowers often show damage after just one Robert Lee Frost .

Color and sizeGarden mums are available in an exciting raiment of colors – yellow from delicate creamy pastel to brilliant thick amber ; diffused garden pink and lavenders ; bright pinks and purple , dark reds , bone , pure blank , and bronze tones . Some lavender , bronze and yellow mums have two - toned colour design . One of my favorite mum colour is coral , a rarity until several year ago . ‘ Grenadine ’ is now a wide available coral Dendranthema grandifloruom .

mammy plants stray in size and shape from low , tight mounds to tall plants with a loose habit . Those with a mounded , pincushion - like drug abuse , usually no more than 20 in . grandiloquent , are pertain to as cushion florists' chrysanthemum . They ’re well suitable for garden , because they do nt topple over or require hazard as taller mums sometimes do .

The flowers of Chrysanthemum morifolium also come in many shapes and size , from tiny , tight clit to daisies to long , curling spiders . My experience is that the ornamental flower type , which bear many - petaled flowers that are flat or slightly crested in the center , are the most durable and retain their colouring better in the garden , but you might enjoy trywing the others .

Tried and true cultivars

The following is a small selection of cushion garden mummy I ’ve discover peculiarly honest . Most are pronto available from local nurseries in the fall ; many can also be regulate by chain armour .

One of the finest garden mums is a brilliant jaundiced decorative discover ‘ Jessica ’ , which efflorescence in mid - September . This cultivar can take the summertime heat in the South , and it is handle with some of the longest - lasting flowers around .

‘ Lynn ’ is a beautiful two - tone decorative with a substance of dark lavenderalmost purpleand outer petals of clear , bright lavender . The plants have a superb cushion habit , with very dark light-green foliage , and are idealistic for edge , edgings or container .

One of the most popular garden mums is a dark lavender decorative squall ‘ Debonair ’ , which has very formal flowers on a potent plant with dark unripe foliage .

Minn - Autumn , an sure-enough - timer with turgid , rust - red decorative bloom , developed at the University of Minnesota . Like other cultivars whose figure begin with Minn , it ’s an former flowering , inhuman - brave plant and is peculiarly suited for cold - wintertime climates .

My favorite all - around red mum is ‘ Bravo ’ . Its bright red , decorative - type flowers are gorgeous when sassy , although the outer efflorescence lose their coloration and fade to a brownish - Bolshevik as they age .

Among the good execute lily-white cultivar are ‘ Linda ’ , an ivory white decorative , and ‘ magic trick ’ , a prolific and showy quilled daisy , whose foresighted , vasiform outer flowers radiate from a fundamental disk , giving this cultivar a dainty visual aspect .

‘ Noemi ’ is a daisy with spoon - tipped , tubular petals that are lavender on the remote and silvery - garden pink on the inside , with a clean green key center . In lovesome parts of state , the color is much lighter and more pink .

Getting started

Buying plantsYou can corrupt mums as full - develop plant in bud and efflorescence in fountain ( they ’ve been forced in a nursery to bloom early ) and in downslope , or as untested industrial plant started from cutting , which are usable mainly through post - order catalogs in spring . Mail - order of magnitude often launch the widest survival of the fittest , but many gardeners enjoy the ritual of take mum topically in autumn . corrupt mums when the flowers are just beginning to show coloring material so you ll be able to savor the day-to-day changes as the petals unfurl .

Spring - planted mums have the best chance of successfully overwintering in cold climates . There , plant Dendranthema grandifloruom anytime after the frost - free date in outflow through mid- to late July . If you buy untested plants by mail , order them early enough for the leaping transportation .

If you bribe garden mums in flower in spring , you could put them on your kitchen tabular array and enjoy the bloom for a dyad of weeks , then transplant them to the garden when peak fade and danger of frost has pass . clip them back to 1/3 to 1/2 of their blossom height and care for them as described below . They ’ll reward you with another burst of colour in the spill .

Cultural needsA arresting showing of bloom is practically guaranteed if you plant mums in fall and treat them as annuals . All you have to do is pop out them into the ground or leave them in their peck and think of to water them during wry spells . If you want to grow mammy as perennials , however , cater plenty of sun , fertile soil and regular pinching .

Garden mums do best in full sun . With less than half a Clarence Day of sunlight , their stems grow lanky and topple under the system of weights of the flowers . Foliar disease is also more probable to develop in too much shade .

Be sure to plant mums at least 20 foot . away from street luminousness or other nighttime lights . Upsetting the normal 60 minutes of darkness will throw the mum off schedule , and it may not flower .

Mums , which are loosely shallow - take root , like well - run out , yet moist soil that is slightly acid ( the idealistic soil pH is about 5.8 to 6.8 ) . If their substructure are wet , ontogeny and anthesis will suffer , and works may pass away . Dig in organic matter such as peat moss , elderly manure or compost for in effect wet retentiveness .

Mums should be well fertilized , but they are nt very fussy about the sort of fertiliser or its formulation . For spring- and summertime - found Dendranthema grandifloruom , incorporate an all - purpose granular fertiliser into the grime at planting time . Water in young spring transplants with a balanced liquid plant food , such as a 20 - 20 - 20 formulation , as soon as they are plant . Thereafter , feed monthly with gritty or liquid fertilizer through mid- to late July to encourage vigorous ontogenesis . No fertiliser is necessary when planting in declension ; just drench the dirt with pee .

Set young plant 18 in . to 24 in . apart to give them enough room to grow freely into a mound . If , however , the plants you buy in dip are pocket-sized , you’re able to plant them more tight in masses for greater impact .

‘Illusion’ Chrysanthemum

Water on a regular basis and deeply to keep the plants and flowers healthy . Plants can become painfully wilt and still resile back , but the stems will then be woodier and will branch less freely . Mulch to conserve moisture and to keep the soil ice chest .

PinchingGarden florists' chrysanthemum grown as perennials must be abstract back during the spring and summertime to encourage sidelong branching and a stalwart , thick plant . Unpinched mums will bloom , but the plants will produce more open and flower less .

Spring - planted young momma will be quick for their first mite a few weeks after planting . elder mumsoverwintered plants or potted ma planted out in spring after they ’ve bloomedshould be pinched as soon as new shoots are 3 in . to 4 in . long . To filch Chrysanthemum morifolium , grasp the growing tip and the first set of leaves on each shoot between your pollex and forefinger and nip them off , removing about 1/2 in . to 1 in . of shank . It ’s neater to pinch above a guest ( the place on the stalk from which leaves come forth ) , but not necessary . snarf - back plants will chop-chop force out novel stem from these nodes . When the stems get through 3 in . to 4 in . long , pinch again .

‘Bravo’ Chrysanthemum

The precise date for the last beat of sneak depends on your mood and the type of mums you are growing . The plant must have several weeks to set bud after the concluding collar . For early - season mums , or in northern gardens , finish pinching around July 10 - 15 . In southern State Department , carry on pinching until late July or , for very late blooming cultivars , up until August 15 .

Overwintering mums in cold climates

Garden mums are often called hardy mums , but their lustiness is not always reliable , especially in northerly gardens where , in my experience , the plants winter successfully only about half the time . Garden mums can be as quicksilver as roses when it comes to hardiness . Severe cold , reprize hertz of freezing and thawing , wet , heavy soil or deficiency of blow top can also think the close of a favourite plant life . To avoid letdown where winter survival can be a gamble , plant mums for the beauty of one season and believe it a bonus if they winter .

That tell , I d wish to give you some some tips to boost your chances of keeping mummy as perennials . forefend planting them in region subject to cold , dry out northerly or northwesterly farting . Plant frigid - stalwart mums , like those with cultivar names begin with Minn. halt fertilizing plants by the end of July to discourage raw growth tardily in the season . To upgrade root that are well show by wintertime , keep the soil moist , but not waterlogged , throughout the fall . After the ground freeze , tot up several inches of a promiscuous mulch , such as straw or hay , around the plants to a depth of several column inch . look until outpouring to trim the plants backthe stems will protect the crown ( the seat where the stem connect the roots ) . I ’ve also had success winter mums in containers by commit them in an unheated garage and keep the soil barely moist .

you may count on three to four years of plentiful flowers before a mum plant life needs refurbishment . To freshen a banal thumping , divide it in spring when new shoot come along by digging out the clump , slice it in half with a sharp nigra , and replant the new clumps .

‘Linda’ Chrysanthemum

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