I cant help much with that one, Bonnie! Mine seem to vary somewhat each year too, but since mine are all in widely varying degrees of clay, Ive pretty much just attributed it to that. And mine are just in different places here and there, and not in any sort of a symmetrical pattern, so it doesnt really matter if they all look different. A couple suggestions that might help a little bit. Mums like to be fed, and are not xeric in any sense of the word. I dont think theres any way in the whole wide world that youre going to get them looking even close to the same this year, but I recommend you give them a really good feeding. I recommend a double strength, water soluble, 20/20/20and water them thoroughly with it a couple times, a week apart. (Ive said this before, but Ill repeat it here, I dont like Miracle Grow! I know some people swear by it, but I see it in the same light as I do their potting soilits different every time and you never know for sure what youre getting. Just my opinion! If you can find it, I recommend Jacks All Purpose Fertilizer, but if you cant find that, I recommend pretty much any brand except MG where you can get a 20/20/20 water soluble.) But while that might help them overall, it still probably wont do anything to "even them out." The little ones will get biggerand the big ones will get biggerbut it might just give them all a nice boost. And then I strongly recommend you do the "hose on a trickle and leave it lay at the base of each plant for 20 minutes" to be sure each one of them gets a really, really good, deep wateringand see what effect it has on them. I dont remember actually looking at your soil when I was out there, but it sure looks pretty good in the picture! Just looking at them, Id be inclined to say dig up the big ones, divide them in half, and replant them in the various locations, but if theyve already been transplanted once this year, I dont think thats a very good idea! So I think for this year just keep feeding them regularly and be sure theyre being watered DEEPLY, and let them do their own thing, and decide what youd like to do next spring. If you try the "pattern" thing again next year and it still doesnt work, my best suggestion would be to do the little circle with something that tends to grow more "evenly" and stick the mums in here and there in other places in the garden where the individual plants wont be so easily compared with each other. Just thought of something! Are they all the same variety? When my parents had the display gardens in the fall each year, there were always some varieties that were big and bushy and nice and others that were smaller and just not as robust lookingand there were always a few that looked like total dudsand they were usually out for the following year! Testing varieties was a major reason for even having the display gardens. So if you have more than one variety out there, that might help explain it! You could try tip pinching all of themtaking considerably more off of the taller one, but while that might help even out the height, it would still make each one come back fuller, so it still wouldnt help even out the actual size of the plants. Not much help here this time! I guess my best recommendation would be to feed and deep water and let them do their own thing to see what happens this year and adjust your plans next year if its just not working for you. Whatever happens with the mums, your overall garden looks so good, its not really gonna matter! Skybird

Hi Tammy I have traded for several mums & later found there were no seeds in them. I think what the traders did was pull the chaff, & not realize the seeds were at the base of the flower head. Can you see the seeds? The only mum I was able to germinate was a shungiku mum. I put the seeds in a plastic bag (no paper towel), sprouted them, & planted them. They are slow growing, although they appear to be doing better with the recent cooler weather. Instead of pulling the flower head, you might cut off the entire flower, so you would be sure & get the seeds.

I love gold and silver pacifica mum! The first time I saw the foliage I thought it might be a form of sedum. I've allowed mine to be leggy and let naturn prune them as she sees fit. That makes for a very uneven plant. If yours looks nice at its current height it will just get nicer through the summer. They also spread some, and I use them under my roses. They just pop out here and there under the fence. They never take over and are always a pleasant appearance. Winter seems to prune them back, if there are some taller stalks, that's OK with me. They've been in that bed for several years. I like those little flowers. They are often a lonely nectar plant in November.

Mine bloom twice a year. Look at buds. When blooms are spent, I’ll give it a moderate haircut and wait for the Fall show.