Garden mums purchased in the spring are the best choice for a colorful fall display and the promise of a return after winter. But don’t neglect mums this summer if you want to ensure plenty of blooms come fall. Even if you carefully pinch their growth for a compact shape, there is more to do.
To encourage more blooms on your chrysanthemums (Chrysanthemum x morifolium), summer care is important. Preventing drought stress, providing plenty of nutrients, shaping your plant and eliminating pests, and a few other easy tasks will ensure your plants are full of flowers in the fall.
Mums are offered for sale in late summer and fall, already in the bud, but growing moms starting in the spring brings the best return on investment. Often mums sold in the fall are for seasonal decorative use only. So learning to grow your own mums and care for them every month is the ideal way to get massive fall blooms.
Essential Tasks for Mom July
Spring-planted mums should already be established and receive ongoing care for pinching, fertilizing, watering, mulching, and pest control. These tips will see your moms through July and beyond.
1. Pinch plants
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Pinching of growing tips on mums begins in spring when the plant is 6 inches (15 cm) tall. Pinch plants and again when newly formed lateral branches are 6 to 8 inches tall or every four to six weeks. Stop pruning mums until mid-July to allow buds to form. Pinching too late can delay flowering.
To pinch mums, simply grasp the tip of each stem above a leaf node and pull off half an inch to an inch (1.25-2.5 cm) of stems and leaves. Shooters or hand pruners also work for cutting. These Felco pruners they are a favorite of our gardening experts.
Prune your mum into a rounded shape to keep it tight for fall. Pinching the stems back will force side shoots and keep the plant shorter and well branched for a compact shape with more stems for flowers.
2. Fertilize for flowers
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If you impregnate your mums in spring with slow release fertilizershould last until July. If the foliage looks limp now, you can apply a side dressing organic fertilizer, such as Miracle-Gro.
Some prefer a liquid fertilizer, such as 5-10-10 or 10-10-10, which can be applied monthly in July. Follow the label directions for the correct amount, but you should either mix it with water before application or apply it around the root zone and then water it in well.
There are different schools of thought what proportion of fertilizer to useso create your own schedule of what works for your plants. However, if the mums are getting long and skinny, they are getting too much nitrogen fertilizer. Once the buds form, you should stop fertilizing.
3. Water well
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Overwatering or submarine they can both sound the death knell for moms. Too much water promotes root rot and too little water leads to drought stress. Water, moms deep, but wait until the top of the soil is dry to water again. Avoid wetting the leaves, which can cause fungal problems.
Consistency is the key here. Keep mums well hydrated throughout the summer to avoid drought stress, which can prevent flowering. A simple one drip irrigation system, such as the one from Home Depot; who uses Content Editor Laura in her garden, ensures that plants get water at the base where they need it most.
4. Add Mulch
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Maltsara it is important to moderate the soil temperature during the peak summer heat, which often occurs in July. The mulch also helps maintain an even moisture level and controls weeds. If you neglected to add mulch in the spring, do it now so the summer heat doesn’t dry out the soil too quickly.
5. Watch out for pests
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Be careful pests on your moms as well as your other plants. If you water by hand, this is a good time to look for invaders. Moms are usually affected by aphidswhich are oval-shaped sap-feeding insects. leaf miners is another common problem. They are tiny fly larvae that pass through the leaves. Spider mite it is the other top parasite on moms. They are practically invisible arachnids that feed on sap.
Aphids are large enough to be seen on the undersides of leaves and young shoots, usually in groups, feeding on leaves. Damage includes defective plants, misshapen leaves and honeydew, which is a sticky substance left on the leaves. Control them with water blasts, insecticidal soapor neem oil, both available on Amazon. However, beneficial insects like ladybugs and their larvae, you often control aphids naturally without your intervention.
Miners create remarkable winding tunnels through the leaves. They are difficult to control because they are inside the leaves. Remove the leaves as soon as you see the trails and throw them in the trash. Pick up any fallen leaves and dispose of them in the trash.
Spider mite damage appears as leaf spots from their feeding and fine webbing between stems, on flower buds or on the undersides of leaves. To control spider mites use strong sprays of water at regular intervals, insecticidal soap, neem oil or acaricide. If the infestation is severe, remove the affected leaves and stems.
Following these tips, your mums should be firm, plump with healthy stems and full of buds from late summer to fall, depending on variety and your planting zone. Once your mums are in glorious bloom, pinch back the faded flowers and you’ll be rewarded with successive blooms.
