How to Grow Annual Chrysanthemum

A favorite of Asian cultures, the elegant mum is a stalwart of the fall garden, blooming long after others have quit. It's also among the best cut flowers for arrangements.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Fertilizers
• Garden Hoses
• Garden Spades
• Garden Trowels
• Seeds
• Seeds

1. Check your nursery for annual mum seedlings. They're also a snap to grow from seed.

2. Choose whatever mum pleases your eye. Annual (grows just one year) mums come in an astonishing array of colors (nearly every color but blue) and forms.

3. Plant seedlings in spring about 8 inches to 1 foot apart, depending on their height.

4. Plant seeds outdoors as soon as the soil can be worked in early spring.

5. Water adequately. Mums need moist but not soggy soil at all times. The flowers shrivel quickly if too dry.

6. Fertilize with a water-soluble fertilizer once every three to four weeks. Mums do best with regular fertilizing.

7. Pull out plants in summer, if they fade. Otherwise, wait until an autumn frost kills them, then pull out and discard.

Tips & Warnings

• Annual Chrysanthemums like full sun and well-drained soil, and like other mums, prefer cool weather and fade in mid-summer heat.
• Mums are also available as perennials (they come back year after year), but in colder climates they tend to die out during winter.
• Mums planted in the spring will bloom in early summer. For fall annual mums, plant seed in mid-summer, being sure to keep the soil adequately moist so the seeds germinate.