Mum Care!

Garden Mums Recommended Care:

Planting:

Plant young plants in sunny location (at least a half-day of sun)

Plant in fertile well-drained soil. Soils can be improved by adding compost, peat moss or other organic matter.

Flowering plants can be placed in any location where a splash of color is desired but will grow best in a sunny location.

Space garden mums in flower in the Fall 18-24 inches apart.

Watering:

Rainfall in many areas is sufficient to keep your garden mums growing well. During dry spells, water as needed to keep plants from wilting.

Always thoroughly water in any freshly planted garden mums.

Garden mums planted outdoors in the fall do not need any fertilizer until they begin to grow the following spring.

Fertilizing:

During the growing season, incorporate into the soil a general-purpose fertilizer such as plant-tone at the rate of ¹/2 to 11b. per 100 sq. ft. Repeat monthly until August. Liquid fertilizer like Pandy's 20-20-20 may also be used. If planting in the fall, no fertilizer is needed.

Pinching:

To encourage branching and development of compact busy plants, it is very important to pinch back your garden mums in the spring as soon as the new growth is 4-6 inches tall. Use your thumbnail and index finger to remove or "pinch" about ¹/2 of the new growth at the top of each and every shoot.

Repeat this procedure through the summer whenever new shoots are 3-5 inches long. Stop pinching around July 10^th -15^th

Winter Protection:

Keep your garden mums' soil moist as winter approaches.

There is no need to prune back plants until the following spring.

Mulch the plants after several hard frosts with straw or pine bark mulch (recommend depth 2"). In the spring, remove any old garden mum stems (a rake works great) and gradually remove the mulch.