Few plants announce the arrival of fall quite like chrysanthemums. Commonly called mums, these seasonal favorites bring rich color to porches, containers and flower beds just as many summer plants begin to fade.
Mums are available every fall at Color Crop Nursery in a beautiful array of colors. Whether you need one colorful plant for the front step or enough mums to create a complete porch display, understanding how to choose and care for them will help you enjoy their flowers for as long as possible.
Mums are available every fall at Color Crop Nursery in a beautiful array of colors. Whether you need one colorful plant for the front step or enough mums to create a complete porch display, understanding how to choose and care for them will help you enjoy their flowers for as long as possible.
Why Mums Are a Fall Favorite
Mums naturally begin flowering as the days grow shorter, making them perfectly timed for fall decorating. Their dense growth and abundant blooms create an immediate impact without requiring a complicated design.
Mums are also extremely useful:
Their colors pair beautifully with pumpkins, ornamental peppers, crotons, decorative corn and other fall favorites.
Mums are also extremely useful:
- Beside a front door
- On porch steps
- In decorative containers
- Around pumpkins and straw bales
- In window boxes
- In existing flower beds
- Around patios and outdoor living areas
- As a centerpiece for a seasonal display
Their colors pair beautifully with pumpkins, ornamental peppers, crotons, decorative corn and other fall favorites.
Choosing the Right Mum
It is tempting to select the plant with the most open flowers, but a mum covered in blooms has already used part of its display time.
For the longest-lasting color, choose a healthy plant with plenty of closed or partially opened buds. A few open flowers will show you the color, while the unopened buds will continue developing after you bring the plant home.
Look for mums with:
If you need mums for an event happening within the next few days, choose plants with more open flowers. If you want the display to last through several weeks of fall, select plants with more buds than blooms.
For the longest-lasting color, choose a healthy plant with plenty of closed or partially opened buds. A few open flowers will show you the color, while the unopened buds will continue developing after you bring the plant home.
Look for mums with:
- Healthy green foliage
- Full, evenly shaped growth
- Firm stems
- Plenty of unopened buds
- Moist, but not waterlogged, soil
- No signs of broken branches or damaged foliage
If you need mums for an event happening within the next few days, choose plants with more open flowers. If you want the display to last through several weeks of fall, select plants with more buds than blooms.
How Much Sun do Mums Need?
Mums perform best in a location with plenty of sunlight. About six hours of sun helps the buds open properly and keeps the plant full and colorful.
During unusually warm weather, a location with morning sun and some protection from the strongest afternoon heat may help the flowers last longer. Too much shade can prevent buds from opening well and may cause garden-planted mums to grow thin or stretched. When using mums temporarily as porch decorations, choose the brightest suitable location available.
During unusually warm weather, a location with morning sun and some protection from the strongest afternoon heat may help the flowers last longer. Too much shade can prevent buds from opening well and may cause garden-planted mums to grow thin or stretched. When using mums temporarily as porch decorations, choose the brightest suitable location available.
Watering is Key - Water the Soil, Not the Flowers
The most important part of caring for mums is consistent watering. Their dense foliage can prevent rainfall or water from an overhead hose from reaching the soil, and container-grown mums may dry out surprisingly quickly. Check the soil regularly by touching it with your finger. If the top layer feels dry, water the plant thoroughly at the soil level until excess water drains from the bottom of the container.
During warm, sunny or windy weather, potted mums may need to be checked every day. Avoid allowing the plant to wilt repeatedly. Severe drying can damage flowers and prevent unopened buds from developing properly. At the same time, do not leave the pot sitting in standing water. Mums prefer evenly moist soil with good drainage—not constantly saturated roots.
Whenever possible, direct water toward the soil beneath the foliage. Regularly soaking the flowers can shorten their display life and may encourage spotting or disease, particularly when the foliage remains wet overnight. As usual, watering in the morning is ideal because it gives any wet leaves time to dry before evening.
During warm, sunny or windy weather, potted mums may need to be checked every day. Avoid allowing the plant to wilt repeatedly. Severe drying can damage flowers and prevent unopened buds from developing properly. At the same time, do not leave the pot sitting in standing water. Mums prefer evenly moist soil with good drainage—not constantly saturated roots.
Whenever possible, direct water toward the soil beneath the foliage. Regularly soaking the flowers can shorten their display life and may encourage spotting or disease, particularly when the foliage remains wet overnight. As usual, watering in the morning is ideal because it gives any wet leaves time to dry before evening.
How to Keep Mums Blooming Longer
Once your mums begin flowering, a few simple steps can help maintain their appearance:
Deadheading, or removing spent blooms, keeps the plant looking tidy and allows developing flowers to remain visible. Cut or pinch off the faded bloom without removing healthy unopened buds nearby.
Bloom time varies with the weather, the plant’s stage when purchased and its care after leaving the nursery. Cooler fall temperatures usually help flowers remain attractive longer, while heat and dry soil can shorten the display.
- Keep the soil consistently moist.
- Protect the plant from extreme afternoon heat when possible.
- Remove faded or damaged flowers.
- Avoid placing mums directly beneath rooflines that release heavy streams of water.
- Make sure decorative containers have drainage.
- Handle branches carefully because they can split under the weight of the flowers.
- Move container-grown mums to a sheltered location during severe weather.
Deadheading, or removing spent blooms, keeps the plant looking tidy and allows developing flowers to remain visible. Cut or pinch off the faded bloom without removing healthy unopened buds nearby.
Bloom time varies with the weather, the plant’s stage when purchased and its care after leaving the nursery. Cooler fall temperatures usually help flowers remain attractive longer, while heat and dry soil can shorten the display.
Decorating with Mums
Mums make it easy to create a fall display because their rounded shape adds instant fullness. For a simple arrangement, place matching mums on each side of the front door. For a more natural look, use groups of different sizes and colors.
Try combining mums with:
For the most attractive display, vary the height of the materials. Place some items on a step, straw bale or sturdy container, then arrange larger pumpkins and plants first. Fill the smaller spaces with miniature pumpkins and other accents. You can also create a lower-maintenance display by using only a few mums as colorful focal points and filling the remaining space with pumpkins and dry seasonal decorations.
Try combining mums with:
- Traditional orange pumpkins
- White or blue-gray specialty pumpkins
- Mini pumpkins and gourds
- Crotons
- Ornamental peppers
- Straw bales
- Corn stalks
- Decorative corn
- Lanterns, baskets or fall signs
For the most attractive display, vary the height of the materials. Place some items on a step, straw bale or sturdy container, then arrange larger pumpkins and plants first. Fill the smaller spaces with miniature pumpkins and other accents. You can also create a lower-maintenance display by using only a few mums as colorful focal points and filling the remaining space with pumpkins and dry seasonal decorations.
Can Mums be Planted in the Ground?
Many fall mums are purchased as temporary seasonal decorations, but garden mums may return in North Texas when planted under suitable conditions. Success depends on the variety, planting time, soil drainage, winter weather and how well the roots become established.
If you hope to keep a mum as a perennial, plant it in the ground as early in the fall as possible. Waiting until very late in the season gives the roots less time to establish before cold weather.
Choose a location with:
Plant the mum at approximately the same depth it was growing in its container. Water it thoroughly and add a light layer of mulch around the plant, keeping the mulch away from the crown. After frost, leave the old stems in place through winter to help protect the plant. Cut the dead growth back before new spring growth begins. Even with proper care, fall-planted mums are not guaranteed to return, so enjoy them first as seasonal color and consider their return an added benefit.
If you hope to keep a mum as a perennial, plant it in the ground as early in the fall as possible. Waiting until very late in the season gives the roots less time to establish before cold weather.
Choose a location with:
- Plenty of sunlight
- Well-drained soil
- Room for air circulation
- Regular access to water
- Protection from constantly wet winter conditions
Plant the mum at approximately the same depth it was growing in its container. Water it thoroughly and add a light layer of mulch around the plant, keeping the mulch away from the crown. After frost, leave the old stems in place through winter to help protect the plant. Cut the dead growth back before new spring growth begins. Even with proper care, fall-planted mums are not guaranteed to return, so enjoy them first as seasonal color and consider their return an added benefit.
Caring for Returning Garden Mums
If your mums return in spring, begin regular care as new growth appears. Garden mums can become tall and loose if allowed to grow without trimming. Pinching or lightly cutting back the growing tips during spring and early summer encourages branching and produces a fuller plant with more flowers. Stop pinching by midsummer so the plant has time to form its fall flower buds.
Do not trim a garden mum after buds begin developing, or you may remove that season’s flowers.
Do not trim a garden mum after buds begin developing, or you may remove that season’s flowers.
Find Your Fall Mums at Color Crop Nursery
Mums are now available at Color Crop Nursery, along with pumpkins, crotons, ornamental peppers, straw bales and other fall decorating favorites.
Stop by to choose your colors and create your own display, or ask our team for help coordinating plants and pumpkins for your porch, flower beds or business entrance. If you need a large quantity, contact our office ahead of time so we can help you check availability and reserve your plants.
Fall inventory can change quickly, so visit early for the best selection. Let us help you welcome the season with beautiful, colorful mums!
Stop by to choose your colors and create your own display, or ask our team for help coordinating plants and pumpkins for your porch, flower beds or business entrance. If you need a large quantity, contact our office ahead of time so we can help you check availability and reserve your plants.
Fall inventory can change quickly, so visit early for the best selection. Let us help you welcome the season with beautiful, colorful mums!
