Adding color to your garden for fall is easy when you plant Mums. While most of your annuals and perennials have faded, mums will give your garden a beautiful variety of color during the cool weather of fall. When planting mums consider each varieties blooming time. By doing this you will have a beautiful display of color well into November.

Cut a few stems of your garden mums and bring the colors of fall into the house. Give the stem a fresh cut on the bottom, remove any foliage that will be in the water and your mums will last several days for you to enjoy.

Planting and Fertilizing

Mums like to be planted in loose, sandy soil, in sun (at least six hours a day) with good drainage. When planting your mums, mix a good planting mix with your existing soil, half and half is best, and add Plant-tone and Ironite. Follow up with a second feeding of Osmocote at the end of June.

Pinching

Pinch the tips of your mums from spring to mid-summer. This will give you a bushier and heavier flowered plant. Start when the plants spring growth reaches six inches tall. Pinch off the top two inches of new growth. This will stimulate new growth. Repeat the process when the plant reaches six inches again, and continue pinching through mid July. Do not pinch after late July, for your plants will not bloom before the first frost.

Protect your Mums over Winter

If your mums are planted in well drained soil, your plants will probably weather over without additional care. Protect your mums over winter by placing a three to four inch cover of mulch after the ground has completely frozen, as the shallow roots are very susceptible to frost. Do not cut the tops of the plants off in fall, wait until spring, since the tops catch snow and leaves serve as natural mulch. After the danger of frost has passed gradually remove the layers of mulch to expose new plant growth.