Gardening Guides
Flowers and Plants
More Than Your Average Mum
With a huge range of flower colors and forms, chrysanthemums can be the star of your fall garden
It’s easy to write off mums as filler flowers if you’re used to only the daisy-like cut flowers or the ubiquitous pompom-like fall bedding plants. But if you look beyond the common supermarket varieties, mums offer as much — or even more — diversity in color and form than garden favorites like roses, dahlias and zinnias. Plus, mums can give your fall garden a major boost, coming into their prime bloom once other warm-season flowers are past their prime.
If you’re new to growing chrysanthemums or in need of a refresher, take a look at our step-by-step guide, including how to start from cuttings plus tips for getting more blooms per plant.
If you’re new to growing chrysanthemums or in need of a refresher, take a look at our step-by-step guide, including how to start from cuttings plus tips for getting more blooms per plant.
C. ‘Tobago’
Benefits and tolerances: Tolerates most soil types, although performs best in well-amended soil; blooms attract butterflies and other pollinators
Seasonal interest: Naturally blooms from September to November; due to widespread greenhouse cultivation of mums under artificial lights, they can be purchased in bloom at any time of the year
When to plant: For large-flower types, plant from cuttings after the last frost in spring (usually March or April), until early July; for bedding varieties grown as annuals, plant in spring through fall
Benefits and tolerances: Tolerates most soil types, although performs best in well-amended soil; blooms attract butterflies and other pollinators
Seasonal interest: Naturally blooms from September to November; due to widespread greenhouse cultivation of mums under artificial lights, they can be purchased in bloom at any time of the year
When to plant: For large-flower types, plant from cuttings after the last frost in spring (usually March or April), until early July; for bedding varieties grown as annuals, plant in spring through fall
Distinguishing traits. Native to China, chrysanthemums are warm-season perennials with a wide range of species. What we generally think of as mums, grown both in the garden and for cut flowers, are almost all florist’s chrysanthemums (C. x grandiflorum). Among these, there are two loose categories:
- Cutting mums: Long stems, larger flowers and lots of flower types (spider, pom, daisy, cushion, spoon, quill and more); often grown as a cut flower or an exhibition flower; grown mostly as a perennial
- Bedding mums or garden mums: Bushy plants with short stems; grown as annuals or perennials for color in borders or, as seen here, in containers
Planting notes for cutting mums. Although mums naturally flower in late summer to fall, plants grown for large flowers or cutting need to be started in spring to early summer. The following instructions are for cutting mums grown as perennials.
- Order cuttings: Large-flowering mums grown as cut flowers or perennials are grown from cuttings (a section of stem that has been rooted in soil). Order cuttings from specialty nurseries like King’s Mums, the largest specialty chrysanthemum grower in the U.S., in fall, winter and spring. Growers begin to ship cuttings in March.
- Repot cuttings: Once you receive cuttings in the mail, immediately take them out of the bags they’ve arrived in and plant in 4-inch pots with potting soil, keeping the soil level even with the level of the grow medium of the cutting, or just above where roots are forming. Water gently and keep out of direct sunlight for the first few days.
- Grow out cuttings: Allow plants to grow for a few weeks in their 4-inch containers, keeping the soil moist. You can do this outside or in a greenhouse, if there is still risk of frost.
- Select a planting area: Choose a bed that receives at least four to six hours of direct sunlight or, in regions with hot climates, full sun with afternoon shade.
Prep the soil: Mums thrive in beds with rich, well-draining soil. Rake the planting area clear, removing any weeds, and add 4 inches of compost into the soil, turning over with a shovel.
Spacing: Allow 15 inches between plants for most large-flowered varieties. Smaller bedding mums can be spaced more closely together (6 to 12 inches), and larger bedding mums (that reach 2 feet tall and wide) can take a few feet between them.
Plant: As soon as the risk of frost has passed in spring, plant out the young mum plants. Set them 12 to 18 inches apart, depending on the variety. Dig planting holes about as deep as the mum containers (4 to 6 inches) and gently transfer each rooted cutting from its pot to the planting hole, keeping the soil level consistent. Water well.
Spacing: Allow 15 inches between plants for most large-flowered varieties. Smaller bedding mums can be spaced more closely together (6 to 12 inches), and larger bedding mums (that reach 2 feet tall and wide) can take a few feet between them.
Plant: As soon as the risk of frost has passed in spring, plant out the young mum plants. Set them 12 to 18 inches apart, depending on the variety. Dig planting holes about as deep as the mum containers (4 to 6 inches) and gently transfer each rooted cutting from its pot to the planting hole, keeping the soil level consistent. Water well.
C. ‘Trendy Time’
Water: Keep the soil consistently moist throughout the growing season.
Cutting back: Both cutting back and midseason pinching of stems can help the number of flowers per plant multiply and promote a bushier growth habit. King’s Mums recommends a fairly major cutting back the first week of July for all plants taller than 10 inches; it advises cutting back plants to 4 to 6 inches tall, leaving some foliage below the cutoff point. If you’re growing for an exhibition (or just would like to promote a few large flowers), select the largest stem after the cutting back and make no other cuts.
Midseason pinching: For the next few weeks, you can pinch the terminal buds (main center shoots) of any small- to medium-flowering mums to promote branching and more blooms. King’s Mums advises not to pinch small- to medium-flowered types after August 5, and to not pinch large-flowered types after the first cutting back.
Water: Keep the soil consistently moist throughout the growing season.
Cutting back: Both cutting back and midseason pinching of stems can help the number of flowers per plant multiply and promote a bushier growth habit. King’s Mums recommends a fairly major cutting back the first week of July for all plants taller than 10 inches; it advises cutting back plants to 4 to 6 inches tall, leaving some foliage below the cutoff point. If you’re growing for an exhibition (or just would like to promote a few large flowers), select the largest stem after the cutting back and make no other cuts.
Midseason pinching: For the next few weeks, you can pinch the terminal buds (main center shoots) of any small- to medium-flowering mums to promote branching and more blooms. King’s Mums advises not to pinch small- to medium-flowered types after August 5, and to not pinch large-flowered types after the first cutting back.
C. ‘Sheffield’ blooming in late October
Staking: As your mums grow, provide support with stakes, loosely tying upright stems to give support. Small-flowered varieties require minimal to no staking, while large-flowered varieties can easily bend over and break if not staked.
Fertilizing (optional): Feed chrysanthemum plants with a well-balanced organic fertilizer throughout the growth period. In late summer, transition to a lower-nitrogen fertilizer to promote healthy bloom formation rather than vigorous green growth.
Staking: As your mums grow, provide support with stakes, loosely tying upright stems to give support. Small-flowered varieties require minimal to no staking, while large-flowered varieties can easily bend over and break if not staked.
Fertilizing (optional): Feed chrysanthemum plants with a well-balanced organic fertilizer throughout the growth period. In late summer, transition to a lower-nitrogen fertilizer to promote healthy bloom formation rather than vigorous green growth.
Bedding mums. Bushy bedding mums are bred to stay smaller and more compact in the garden. As a result, they are all small-flowered and require no staking. At maturity, plants will be less than a foot tall and wide up to 2 feet tall and 3 feet wide. In general, bedding mums in bloom at the nursery have reached their full size and will not grow much more. Many big-box nursery stores and supermarkets sell greenhouse-grown bedding mums in small pots nearly year-round. These can be planted out into the garden and will revert to blooming in fall.
Pests and diseases. Chrysanthemums are largely fairly disease-free when grown in healthy soil with full sun and space for air circulation between plants. However, plants can be susceptible to insects, such as aphids, thrips and spider mites, as well as powdery mildew and diseases like verticillium wilt. If any pests or diseases become a problem, treat immediately. If the issue persists, remove leaves, stems or entire affected plants from the larger mum bed to prevent spreading.
Overwintering. Mums can be cultivated in zones 5 to 9. In cold-winter areas, dig them up at the end of the bloom period, cutting back plants and overwintering them in a greenhouse. In milder-winter areas, you can leave the plants outside, but they often benefit from some protection from frost. Cover plants with a frost blanket and mulch the roots with straw. Mums grown as annuals can be pulled out at the end of the season.
Your turn: Love mums? Show us your favorite varieties in the Comments below.
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Botanical name: Chrysanthemum x morifolium (syn. Chrysanthemum x grandiflorum)
Common names: Florist’s chrysanthemum, florist’s daisy
Where it will grow: Hardy to minus 15 degrees Fahrenheit, or minus 26.1 degrees Celsius (USDA zones 5 to 9; find your zone) but may require winter protection; in colder regions, grow as an annual or dig up and overwinter in a greenhouse
Water requirement: Moderate
Light requirement: Full sun; provide afternoon shade in hot climates
Mature size: Less than 1 foot to 3 feet wide and less than 1 foot to 4 or more feet tall, depending on variety; bedding varieties often stay as bushy plants from 1 foot to 2 feet tall and wide