I never can make myself do it, but is now when I should be pinching back my mum buds?
When will they bloom if I do? Maybe October (my birthday month!) ?
I'd like them bushier, so can I actually cut them back down by about 6 inches and still expect blooms?
Or am I supposed to just pinch back the little flower buds?
Thanks!
Pinching Mums?
Folks have told me to cut them back by half. I'm going to do it today. All of my mums and asters are hugh. Some of the tiny ones are blooming.
Well I didn't get them pinched back until the 3rd week in July so many of the mums haven't bloomed yet. Tons of buds though and some of them have spread incredibly. The Asters didn't mind the late hair cut and are blooming away and have gotten a good bit taller and wider this year.
Here's a photo of some of them.
Some More.
These are just no name varieities from the produce store.
Most of them were planted last fall and they are now about a foot taller than last year.
My mums are still delayed by the late shearing, but may be in full bloom by next week.
They are so beautifully formed! I was chicken and mine are so leggy and floppy. I'm jealous. Next year I AM trimming back! Can't wait to see your mums.
Mine have not started blooming yet but they too get quite large, 3' or so. I have been saying I will trim them back but end up doing nothing..... sigh....
3gardeners & luis, I can't believe how dead this forum is for this time of year. Some people are reading the threads, but no one is posting.
I really let these mums get too big by waiting so long to pinch them back. Now all of them need to be divided, but I'm not sure if I should do it when the blooms are spent, or wait until the spring.
A few of these bloomed earlier than the others this year, so there are some spots of little color. Maybe next year, things will be more in sync. That bare sidewalk strip has been an ongoing project for over the past 18 months. It was 12 inches tall of mounded oily smelling dirt and weeds.
These mums really did get hugh.
Dead this time of the year. True. Hmmm, maybe the gardeners are also going dormant!?!?! Hee hee hee. I am starting to see some bloomage here in about less than half of my mums.
Another one. It is cloudy and rainy today so, sorry about the lack of sun in the picture.
Wow, love that purple, Luis. I'm surprised your mums are so late if you didn't pinch them back at all. Is it because of your warm temperatures? Mine were trying their darndest to put out a full bloom in July. Some of the newest tiny ones actually did.
Yes, I attribute the problem to high temperatures in the 100s or 90s until almost October. About half of the other shrubs look like they will bloom any time now but haven't. Oh well.
Luis, we were in the mid 80's two days ago. Today it will be in the low 60's. I think that lots of plants have had a hard time adjusting to this year's weather.
Indeed, stormyla. Our temperature drop are associated with rainy weather patterns that, while normal for this time of the year, have provided an unusual amount of rain and cloud cover that differs from some years in the past. But I try never to complain when there is rain. It is good for the budget $$$ and, within reason, good for the plants. But not good when the pooches come inside and shake off the water on me as I prepare to dry them off. Hee hee hee! Have a great day!
Unfortunately, the only life thread has had has come from the two of you since I posted it in JULY and I haven't seen much happening in the whole forum either! And I'm really, really surprised. And disappointed too. :-(
I wish it would pick up. I don't know much about mums, but I do know there's a whole untapped, complex world out there we could expand on.
I saw a special on chrysanthemums a long time ago. I wish I could member the details of it. I thought I'd find that info. here. But I guess mums don't have that following here on Daves and the "aficionados" reside elsewhere.
Both of y'all have beautifully shaped mums. With and without the pinching it seems. I think mine don't get enough light. and that might be contributing to their legginess. After carefully considering their summer sun situations, they mostly get their sun up until around 1:00 pm. But it has rained all summer, which cut down on their sun also. Floods after 10 years of droughts building to a record drought with water rationing. In fact it's raining right now with more flood warnings!
3gardeners, mine have gotten really leggy in the years when I didn't pinch them. They separated and opened up in the middle and looked terrible. Then they rooted where they lay. It is much better to pinch them back if you are in a cooler climate. Mine do get full sun, in my only full sun bed.
Hi, there - I lOVE mums! I plant them everywhere I can find a spot and in as many colors as I can find (and afford!) Mine have actually bloomed off and on all summer (I just kept cutting them back and watered, through the drought and hot weather) and they're really looking good now. I do need to trim them back some today. I like how they can spread and share the beautiful colors and the foliage is nice when they're not blooming.
As dstarr said, I LOVE the mums too. It's been a few years since I grew them at my other house. I've bought a few in the fall since then, but they never come back. This year, I found them early in the spring with a pretty good price at Bluestone Perennials. (http://www.bluestoneperennials.com/b/bp/index.html). (Click on Mums on the left under Shop Our Catalog.) They all did beautifully but I never got around to taking any pictures to share. I read in another forum about covering them with six inches of straw after the first freeze to get them to come back. Now if the Halloweeners haven't bought it all and I can still find it, I'll try that and hopefully they'll come back next year.
Ron, They have to have good drainage especially through the winter. They really thrive on neglect. Lean dry soil is what they like best.
stormyla, So that is why potted mums survive through the winter just left in place, totally neglected, and bloom happily the next year.
Mine never get anything except merciless trimming back all summer and cutting them back when the weather down here get REALLY wet and cold - sometime in Feb. and
they come back for 2 - 3 years before I have to cut them totally down and even then sometimes I'll find them later in another year peeking up.
Yes sempervirens. I've participated in many discussions with folks who have problems with Mums. It seems that most of the failures are among folks who feed & water them.
Thanks stormyla - also, I bought a really beautiful potted mum a couple weeks ago and was thinking of repotting it, as they're always root bound, and bringing it into the basement for the winter. Does that sound like a good idea or do you have some different advice?
Ron, Repotting it sounds like a good idea. But I'm not sure about bringing it into your basement. Is your basement heated? A garage might be better. The cold hardy varieities like a cool winter. How much would you water it? The only ones that I've overwintered in pots have been left outside and have followed Mother Nature's watering schedule.
If you're worried about losing it due to the cold, why not sink the pot into the ground? It will be easy to pull out next spring. Do you keep a veggie garden? That makes a great place to sink your pots for overwintering.
Thanks for the ideas STORMYLA - I do have a veggie garden. And actually, I had bought four pots of the same mum. So, I'll give that a try, sink two of the pots in the garden and keep two of them in the unheated garage. Hopefully, some of them will make it through the winter. Do you suggest covering the sunken pots in the garden with a layer of straw? I was going to try the straw with the other mums I planted in the spring from Bluestone Perennials. Or, do you see the straw thing as unnecessary? I really do appreciate your help and advice. Also, enjoy the communication back and forth.
Ron, You are in at least 1 zone warmer than I am. I've never had to cover any of my sunken pots with straw or mulch. They come back just fine. It's very nice to "speak" with you too.
aside from Bluestone and Kings Mums where are some other places I could
buy mums and asters?
I just love all the photographs!
Faribault Growrs Inc. has a good display. I've ordered from them and got wonderful plants. They come in 2" pots but grew like crazy. The more you order, the cheaper they are so gather a group! The thing I really like about them, they let you know when they are likely to bloom, early or late. Bloom times here in Mn, were terribly out of whack thus year. It's not easy to find mums that are Mn. hardy, these do great!
Stormyla, your September aster pictures are absolutely gorgeous! The colors are much more beautiful than most catalogues and I'm eating my heart out. What do you do to bring them along so well? Can you recommend to me an aster variety that would do well here in Zone 6 where it's very hot and humid in the summer? I have tried several different kinds of asters with little luck and rarely see them here in other people's gardens. There is a wild variety, though, with very small flowers that blooms in wild areas that have never been plowed. I search them out every year and would dearly love to have that beautiful blue in my own yard.