- 1). Choose a hardy mum variety. Unfortunately, not all mums will over-winter in gardening zones north of zone 5. Most heirloom varieties are hardy and varieties produced in Minnesota show good cold resistant properties. Read the plant hardiness key when purchasing mums to determine the lowest temperature they can survive.
- 2). Plant mums in full sun, if possible. With shorter fall days, they need all the sunlight they can absorb.
- 3). Add sand, compost or peat moss to heavy clay soils before planting to encourage good drainage. Mums prefer an inch of water per week and it’s OK to allow the surface of the soil to dry out slightly before you water again.
- 4). Pinch off spent blooms during the flowering season. If you have a large mum bed this can be tedious so take a pair of garden scissors out and quickly cut the dead flowers from the plant to encourage new blooms.
- 5). Trim the entire plant back to a height of six to eight inches after it’s done blooming and mulch with untreated pine shavings, leaves or dry grass clippings if the temperature in your area reaches 0 degrees in the winter.
- 6). Deal with mums in the spring for another year of blooms. This is a critical time in the life of a fall-blooming mum. Apply a fertilizer high in phosphorous when the plant becomes bushy with new green growth.
- 7). Allow the mums to grow naturally to a height of 12 to 15 inches then trim them back drastically to a height of eight inches. This is the way greenhouses encourage full fall blooming. You may be removing dozens of tiny flower buds at this time but it will pay off in the fall.
- 8). Give mums some room to breathe. With shallow roots, these plants don’t like competition from other plants nearby. Leave at least one foot of empty space around each mum.
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