Mums

            You can’t pass any garden center, box store, hardware store, roadside stand, gas station,  Church parking lot, or kid’s converted Kool-Aid stand these days without seeing Mums for sale.

            Chrysanthemums, (their full name), are the last to flower for the year L; and therefore are the last to be marketed.

            They are also called “hardy” mums in some older circles; but hardy is a bit of a misnomer. It may have been common place in days past that they would keel over at the drop of a hat, or not come up at all until somebody hybridized some toughness into them. But even with that little bit of genetic machismo newbies to your soil will need some protection this winter.

            But first let’s talk about planting them,

            They need full sun; shade makes them grow leggy and stretched. The hole should be dug twice as wide as the root ball, but only as deep as the root ball. If planted too deep the plant will use up its reserves struggling to get stems to the surface next year, causing no flowers the following fall. Back fill with rich topsoil; to get lots of flowers they need lots to eat.

            When prepping them for winter, cut, or break off, the stems when the leaves start too brittle up.

            Pile leaves over them to insulate them from the bitter winter cold, holding them down over the plant with chicken wire. This will slow the quick freezing and thawing; they can handle temperature down to -20; they just can’t handle getting there quickly and then coming back up quickly.

 If you have any questions feel free to e-mail me at NiemeyerLandscaping@Gmail.com or post a comment on this Blog. Like us on Facebook at Niemeyer Landscaping.