Valley View Farms: Plant of the Week---Mums

Saturday, September 2, 2023

Plant of the Week---Mums

Bench after bench of fall mums

I took a field trip today, visiting other garden centers and the big box stores. It is officially fall in the herbaceous plant world. The celosias from last week's blog were side-by-side mums of many sizes. From small mums in 4" pots to jumbo mums in 12" pots, the fall flowering favorites were in good supply. Naturally, I have a bias and think our growers do an incredible job growing our own mums!

Mums soon after planting

We've grown mums at the family farm in Hydes, MD for as long as I can remember. Our growing has evolved from producing over 10,000 mums in 8 inch pots to expanding to 10 and 12 inch pots with multiple plants in each pot. We even grow tricolor pots of mums. While plenty of other plants fill our greenhouse and shade-house, mums are undoubtedly still number one in the fall garden.

Tricolor mixed pots are beautiful

We don't necessarily call these mums perennial, though if they were planted in the ground early in the season, their chance of coming back are good. Many of our gardeners use mums like pumpkins as autumn decorations. Purchased when the buds start to crack open, mum flowers will usually last for 6-8 weeks, depending on weather and proper watering. John and Vernon, at our farm, grow over 50 varieties. They get planted on 4 different dates beginning in early June to take advantage of their propensity to bloom early, mid-season, late, or what we call season extenders. There is always a chance with the later mums that a frost may occur. A frost won't kill the plant, but will mar the flowers. Covering the blooms with Harvest Guard or a light sheet overnight will save the blooms.

Bright yellow is always popular

Mums love full sun. In containers, get used to checking them everyday to see if they may need to be watered. A timed-released fertilizer like Osmocote will provide the necessary food to keep the plant healthy and happy through fall. Removing spent blooms keeps the plant pretty well into the fall months.