Growing Mums

~ By Jus Kuntree ~

I have fond memories from my childhood of a nearby mum farm. In the fall, people would go and walk the rows of color, and choose the plants they wanted to take home. Out came the shovels and spades, and everywhere you looked, someone was digging up a vibrant mum for their gardens. Sadly, the mum farm is no more, but every time I see a mum, I think back to those days.

When choosing a location, think about the amount of sunlight that's available. Mums like at least a half day of full sunlight.

In cold climates, it is possible to pot the mums up, and take them inside. Again, find them a spot that receives plentiful sunshine.

Mums are pretty resilient plants, and do well in a variety of soil types. However, they do even better when they have some humis mixed in, and are in an area with good drainage. And if left out to winter, they should have a good thick mulch applied.

You may if you wish, put small plants into pots, and transfer them to the ground after they've gotten some good growth on them.

Mums come in quite a variety of colors and types. I think it would be an interesting venture trying to come up with some new varieties. Now that would be quite a project!

Spring is really the best time to plant mums, although there are a lot of them planted in the fall. Earlier planting gives them more time to become established, so particularly if they're going to be outside all winter, they tend to do better. Once they're growing good, you can divide and seperate them every 2 or 3 years in the spring.

After the larger variety plants get up to about six inches or so, begin pinching off the top inch or two, and continue to do this about once a month till the weather begins to cool down in late summer or early fall. This will help encourage the plant to become fuller, sturdier, and have more blooms.

         

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