CHRYSANTHEMUM Facts

COLORS

Yellow, bronze, red, pink, lavender, many others

LIGHT

Full sun

SOIL

Rich, well drained

WATER

When soil becomes dry

pH

5.5 to 6.5

HARDINESS

Very cold hardy and tolerant of summer heat

TIP

To save potted garden mums, keep them in a cool place indoors through winter and set out survivors in the spring.

CHRYSANTHEMUMS

Although best known as flowering potted plants to use as colorful accents in the fall, many chrysanthemums make sturdy garden perennials. Where winters are very cold, choose extra hardy selections, such as Clara Curtis. Where winters are less severe, most garden mums will survive winter provided they have ample opportunity to develop roots in their new home before cold weather arrives.

To grow chrysanthemums that bloom so heavily that you can hardly see the leaves, choose selections known to grow well in your area. Northern gardeners often choose early blooming cultivars, while midseason bloomers work best in the midsection of the country. Late mums put on a great show in areas where frost does not arrive until late November.

To help mums develop more bud-bearing stems, pinch back the growing tips twice -- once in late spring and again in early July. Be careful not to pinch mums any later, or they will not have a chance to develop flower buds on time.

To help mums develop more bud-bearing stems, pinch back the growing tips twice -- once in late spring and again in early July.

FERTILIZING CHRYSANTHEMUMS

Begin fertilizing mums in mid spring after new green stems appear and the last frost has passed. Mums need a constant supply of nutrients to make strong, steady growth. Sprinkle Vigoro® All Purpose Plant Food with timed-release nutrients into the soil around the plants and then mulch over the area.

In midsummer, after you have pinched back your plants for the last time, give them a "booster feeding". Pull back the mulch, sprinkle fertilizer onto the soil around the plants and replace the mulch. This feeding will provide the plants with ample nutrients to support heavy flowering and will help insure deep rooting which in turn enhances winter hardiness and resistance to drought.

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