Tag Archive for tips for chrysanthemums

The Queen of Autumn – Beautiful Mums – Long May They Reign!

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Happy Fall !

Happy Fall!

It seems autumn has finally arrived! In celebration, I always am drawn to the nursery to bring home a few of my favorite harbingers of autumn, the beautiful chrysanthemum. I am going to give you some tips today to give you at least DOUBLE the blooming time on these beauties. Sometimes I have kept them going for almost three months of flowers using this strategy.

Here goes–

 

 

 

 

When purchasing mums, look for plants that are just showing color, but in a bud stage. This will give you the longest amount of time to enjoy-

When purchasing mums, look for plants that are just showing color, but in a bud stage. This will give you the longest amount of time to enjoy.

First, when choosing your mum, buy one that is still in the “color showing bud” stage. This way, you will have the opportunity to get every minute of flowering time.

 

 

Instead of planting the mums in the garden, plant them in pots at least four inches larger than the nursery pot that they come in. This allows you to pull them under cover of a porch, garage or even into your house during fall rainstorms — their biggest enemy!

 

 

 

 

Mums in all their glory are one of the most beautiful sights of Fall. I love to have some by the front door to great visitors.

Mums in all their glory are one of the most beautiful sights of fall. I love to have some by the front door to great visitors.

 

When watering the potted mums, just water the the root zone from under the foliage. This is very important. Water on the flowers after they open will kill the flower. It breaks my heart when I see a well-intentioned gardener plant their mums and then water from above with a hose, only to see that the mums are dead the next week. Watering only the soil keeps the foliage and flowers dry and protects them. Using this method should give you at least a month and half of bloom time.

 

 

 

Deadheading your mum after the first set of blooms have bit the dust will expose a second set of blooms. You can have double your bloom time!

Deadheading your mum after the first set of blooms have bit the dust will expose a second set of blooms. You can have double your bloom time!

 

Now to extend that month and a half of blooms for a month or possibly even more, here’s my final tip: deadheading. If you remove the first set of blooms when they have finished, you will see a second set of buds hidden underneath. These are smaller, but will provide you with a second bloom cycle of flowers. Double the fun!

 

 

 

 

 

Second set of blooms opening! Gardener's gold-

Second set of blooms opening! Gardener’s gold…

 

 

I hope you will give this method a try if you love mums as much as I do. Happy autumn gardening everyone!

Great New Fall Tips and Some Reminders

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It’s that time of the year when all of the nurseries are full of gorgeous

Do you love mums as much as I do? I have a great new tip for you today!

Do you love mums as much as I do? I have a great new tip for you today!

Chrysanthemums, and I’ve just gotten back from the store with one of the best ideas that I have seen in a long time!

 

First, the problem: I am always trying to stake up certain flowers (Mums, Daisies, Sedums, etc.) that seem prone to split open in wind and rain, only to end up with string showing, and the flowers breaking anyway.

By adding some plastic mesh as your mums are growing it will keep them from splitting open in the rain.

By adding some plastic mesh over the top as your mums are growing, it will keep them perfectly spaced and protect them from splitting open in the rain.

 

 

 

The solution: covering plants with green plastic mesh as they are growing. The flower buds grow through the mesh and hide it, but the mesh keeps them nicely spaced and completely safe from splitting open. Such a simple idea! This gardener is going to use it a lot from now on!

 

The mesh can't be seen at all, even from a foot away.

The mesh can’t be seen at all, even from a foot away.

 

 

 

I’m surprised that I’d never seen this done before. Also nice because you can use the mesh over and over, not to mention it’s really inexpensive. Win, win!

The new garage doors will keep the garage warm enough to double as a greenhouse.

The new garage doors will keep the garage warm enough to double as a greenhouse.

 

 

 

After 33 years of hard use, the garage doors and openers needed replacing, and I am so happy at the great new choices available now. Our garage has to serve many functions, as do most garages these days, so we opted for a new door that is maintenance free, double walled steel with insulation sandwiched between. This will keep the garage much warmer in the winter, which is great since one of those functions is doubling as a greenhouse to keep some of the potted plants safe in the winter months.

Someday I would love to have a greenhouse, but until then the plants will have to share space with Snowflake and Silver (our cars – LOL!), and my old bike, lawnmower, and you know – all the other stuff that ends up in garages! I am very happy with the installation company and would be very glad to send information to anyone interested in replacing their garage doors.

This is the brand of driveway topcoating I used to resurface this last Spring. It has held up nicely, and I like it best out of all the varieties I have tried.

This is the brand of driveway topcoating I used to resurface this last Spring. It has held up nicely.

 

 

I have been asked again what I used to topcoat the driveway, so I’m adding a picture of the container. This is a reminder that now is a perfect time of year to do this chore. Also, as a gauge, it takes about two containers for my driveway, which is approximately 25′ x40′. I have tried so many different types of coating, but I recommend the thinnest variety. I find it sinks into the hairline cracks and divots best to seal them.

 

 

I'm naming the coleus as my favorite "Plant of the Summer." It grows exceptionally well in containers, and the color ranges are so vivid and beautiful.

Coleus — my favorite “Plant of the Summer.” It grows exceptionally well in containers, and the color ranges are so vivid and beautiful.

 

With the summer coming to an end, I am giving my award for this year’s “Plant of the Summer”: to the coleus I grew in planters. It has looked amazing even in the heat, and the colors are so vivid. I am always interested in trying new colors and combinations, and I love the look with this sweet potato vine.

Speaking of vines, my pumpkins were mostly eaten by the chipmunks, but I did manage to harvest two last week.

One more variety of the coleus I grew in pots, this one is bright pink with lime green borders.

One more variety of the coleus I grew in pots, this one is bright pink with lime green borders.

 

 

What has been your favorite plant this summer?

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