Mums the word: How to plant your chrysanthemums

This has been a crazy weather year. This spring produced more rainfall than I can remember. The total amount of rainfall is debatable. I have not looked at actual weather data, but I know my windshield wipers had to be replaced.

Now that it is beginning to dry up, gardeners are beginning to think about getting back outside and doing their "thing." Since this is early in the fall, I would suggest gardeners think about planting chrysanthemums (otherwise commonly referred to as mums).

When planting mums, place them in a garden area that has a lot of afternoon sunlight. Then when planting, add some peat moss to the soil you dig out of the hole. Take the mum out of the pot, and rough up the soil so some free roots extend past the root clump. Next place the mum in the hole and back fill with the combination of soil and peat moss.

Next, water the newly planted mum. Make sure that you add some high phosphorous (the middle of the 3 numbers) fertilizer to the water. This will encourage good root development.

Make sure after planting, the top of the root wad sits about 1 inch above the surrounding soil. Quite often after a plant is newly planted and watered, the soil tends to settle. This results in a dip in the soil. This dip tends to hold too much water after subsequent watering or rain fall, and the plant tends to drown.

I love these beautiful plants for several reasons. The first reason is they are perennials. I can plant them this fall, enjoy the blooms in 2019 and know I can get the same color next fall without having to expend any planting energy. My wife says I am a lazy gardener.

Secondly they produce a gorgeous mound of blooms each fall. I look forward to their appearance each year. I have found each year, the size of the mount tends to increase. I can continually enjoy them and not have to expend any energy.

If you want to do a little gardening this fall and enjoy the results for years to come, think about planting mums. You will be glad you did this fall and many falls to come.