The thread about the fall bloomers coming early reminded me to ask this. I have two mums which are starting to bud . . . is it too late to cut them back if I want them to bloom in the fall? I should have asked this month ago. TIA!
question about cutting mums back
I would cut them back.They will get bushier and you will get more buds(flowers).Edge
Rule of thumb around here is you can pinch back late summer and fall flowering plants up to the 4th of July, makes it easy to remember. ;)
In addition to the advice above, I recommend pinching twice a year- once after they emerge, and once before the Fourth.
Ok, thanks! Now by pinch back do you mean just pinch off the buds, or go further down?
Further down, where you want it to branch. Another "rule of thumb", you don't want to remove more than 30% of foliage from a plant while it's growing. If it's only a very tiny plant with buds, just pinch below the bud.
I always heard a foot high at the fourth of July...So I have cut mine back that far...I had already done some cutting early part of June...
Mine are budding and blooming, I had cut them on Memorial Day as taught by my grandpa, then again the 4th of July, but when I got up to church they have started blooming. Do I cut them anyway?
Not once they've started blooming, I don't think - there's no guarantee that you'll get a second flush later on. I would just dead-head, now.
My mums (planted last spring) are driving me crazy this year! It seems as soon as I cut them back, new buds form almost instantly. I just cut them back one more time yesterday. I guess I need to stop now, but these darn buds are forming so fast there's no way they'll wait till fall to bloom.
I usually pinch out the terminal end of every stem starting in the spring when the plants are 3" tall. Again at around 6" and 9". As stated above usually by the 4th of July they are around a foot tall and get the final pinch. This year here in the northeast at least we have had a lack of very many sunny days and some plants may think the shorter daylight of fall is already happening and they are setting buds a bit early. The last time to pinch is around the beginning of July most years in order to give the plants time to branch out one more time and set buds for fall bloom.
i pinch the mums here and get spring bloom and fall bloom.