Will my Fall, garden, potted Mums bloom again?
Do you love Fall?
We at In the Roots landscaping love all of the fall colors and the planting we get to do this time of the year. We love all of the fall plants, but Mums are a great staple to get the truly fall look for your garden and landscape in the Birmingham Alabama area.
Have you ever wondered what do I do with my Mums after the Fall season?
Well we at In the Roots are here to provide your Landscapers tip of the Week!
So when the winter is upon you do your mums start looking like this?
Well just like most plants your Mums are bread to grow, bloom, create plant seed, and then do it all again. When your Mums are getting ready for the cold days and nights of winter they start to wilt because they want to store as much food as possible to breed themselves. (Tip: one thing you could do to keep them blooming longer is what landscapers and gardeners call “deadheading”.)
definition: deadhead – to remove the faded flowers of (a plant) especially to keep a neat appearance and to promote re-blooming by preventing seed production. If you would like to see your Mums to have the best chance to come back next year follow the steps below.
So you came here to save your Mums let’s do it!
Below I have drawn out a 6 step process to help your Mums come back next year. If you are in zone 5-9 follow the below steps for planting your store bought potted mums. If you reside in higher climate zones than 9 you can try this process in a greenhouse or possibly in your home.
Step 1: Depot the Mums
First you will want to take your potted Mums outside to your potting bench. If you do not have a potting bench go to the spot where you plan to plant these Mums. Once you are ready to go take the Mums out of the pot.
Step 2: Split the plants
Generally when you purchased a potted Mum the pot will have been planted with more than one plant. Growers generally plant more than one plant in a pot to guarantee a plant will grow. So you will need to use your hands to break up the soil and pull the plant’s roots apart. In some cases you may need to use a clean and disinfected hand clipping tool (I will explain in another post how to properly clean your tools and the importance of always using clean tools) to break apart some of the tougher roots.
Step 3: Trim plant back
The trimming process seems simple, but you will need to take your time and not over cut. The trimming should be to cut off the dead blooms and the stems down to about 3” – 4”. You will need to keep about 2 – 3 leaves on each plant. Keeping the leaves will provide a way for the plant to continue feeding itself.
Step 4: Dig a hole
This step you will need to dig a hole for the Mums you have de-potted, split, and trimmed. The hole will need to be deep enough for the roots to be covered. The base of the plant will need to stay above ground. The best way to plant is to mound the soil.
Step 5: Mulch
Adding mulch to your plants is like providing a blanket for the winter. This will help keep the roots from freezing during the winter months.
Step 6: Water thoroughly
This is one of the simplest steps of taking care of your plants, but one of the hardest to get just right.(I will write another story about how and when to water) Once you have replanted your Mums in the ground water them very deep the first time and keep them watered depending on how warm it is outside. You will need to water more on really hot days.
Click here to take a look at some of the Mums we have planted this fall.