Make your fall gardens mumalicious
- Michelle Wood: SWCD
- October 4, 2009
- 739
If you don’t already have a large selection of mums coloring your garden for fall, here are five reasons why you should plant some in your garden:
• Mums grow in almost any garden soil. They’re not particularly finicky about growing conditions as long as they have adequate sun and adequate drainage.
• Mums come in a dazzling array of flower forms and colors. The flowers of chrysanthemums range from perfect ball shapes through blooms that look like brushes. And colors! With the exception of blue (asters will fill that niche) you’ll find that mum blooms run the gamut of the rainbow, from bold primary reds through delicate mauves and whites.
• Mums are easy-care plants. While there are a great many things you can do to mums, there isn’t actually much that you have to do to them. They need adequate watering, of course, and the growing plants should be pinched out if you want them to reach their maximum bloom potential.
• Pests don’t bother them much (even deer). Even though I live in deer heaven, the deer leave my mums alone. Mums grown in poor conditions may be susceptible to fungal rot or powdery mildew. They may also suffer from the attention of aphids, earwigs, and spider mites. But I’ve known avid gardeners who have grown mums for years and haven’t had to deal with any of these problems yet.
• Mums bloom ferociously for a long period. Some of the mums in my garden have been blooming since early September, and show no signs of stopping yet. I deadhead them regularly to prolong the bloom season, but still, that’s a pretty impressive record. When I say ferociously, I mean it; some varieties of my mums turned into 3-by-3 mounds of blooms when they flowered.
If you need yet another reason to grow mums, there’s nothing like seeing them in full bloom. You’ll find lots of stunning examples at any nursery. And many mum societies are holding shows, now that it’s mum season. For instance, the Chrysanthemum Association is holding its annual show Oct. 15-18, in Asheville, N.C., a great opportunity to see some truly spectacular examples of mums grown for exhibition.
Until next week, this is Ruth the Grower saying, “I might pick out another mum or two myself. Mums do such a great job of coloring the fall garden that there’s always room for one more! Why not make your garden mumalicious and enjoy beautiful blooms through November?” Keep writing to ruththegrower@aol.com.