Help Your Outdoor Mums Thrive With The Help Of This Simple Tip

Now that the growing season is almost over and all your hard work in spring and summer has paid off with beautiful blooms and crunchy veggies, it's time to transition to fall gardening. The end of the growing season in autumn typically involves a much more laid back style of gardening that may include planting some bulbs (fall is the best time to plant spring-blooming bulbs) or pruning certain perennials to get them ready for next season (although there are some plants you should never prune in fall). However, as your regular plants start to fade and die off with the cool weather, many people choose to brighten up their yard by adding mums. Mums (the common nickname for chrysanthemums) are the perfect choice for fall flowers because they are not only beautiful — coming in the rustic orange, yellow, red, and pink hues of autumn — but also actually thrive in the cooler temperatures.

Unfortunately, the problem with mums (especially those purchased from the grocery store) is that despite theoretically liking the cool weather of fall, they tend not to live very long. In order to make your mums last for as long as possible this autumn, the best thing you can do is repot them. Preferably, you should try and repot your mums in a pot large enough to allow them to stretch out and grow. You also want to add good potting soil that drains well and provides plenty of nutrients.

The reason you should repot your mums is simple: normally when you purchase mums from the store, they are completely root-bound, meaning their roots have already grown to take up the entire space of their containers. Plants don't like being root-bound and definitely won't thrive for long when growing in that condition. This is one of the reasons why potted mums tend to dry out super quickly no matter how much water you give them once you bring them home. 

After repotting your mums, there are a few other things you can do to ensure that these gorgeous fall flowers stay healthy and thrive during the whole autumn season. First of all, it is important to make sure that your mums get at least four hours of sunlight a day. Although mums will survive in partial shade, the lack of sunlight may cause them to produce fewer flowers, so the more sun, the better. Another thing you need for healthy mums is plenty of water. Even if you have repotted the plants, you should be watching your mums for drooping leaves, and check the soil every couple of days to make sure it isn't dry to the touch.

Once you've ensured that your mums have enough sunlight and water, one extra thing you can do for beautiful and thriving chrysanthemum bushes is to deadhead them. Mums respond extremely well to deadheading, and regularly pinching off fading blooms is a great way to make your plants produce more flowers and last longer.