As summer ends , colourful mumsstart popping up and offering interfering , compact , and vibrant blooms . Even though many citizenry prefer to throw out their mama when they choke back , it ’s potential to save stalwart or garden - character mums until next twelvemonth .

However , to do so , pruning is a must . Not pruningpotted mumsleads to leggy , tall plants next year instead of precious , bushy growth . But what are the key tocorrectly pruningpotted mums to get healthier plants ?

What Are Chrysanthemums?

A bushy, colorful flower

Originating in Asia and Japan , mums are afall - favorite plant . They can originate between 1 and 3 feet wide of the mark and produce slopped clusters of prime . They ’ve been bred to have up to 21 different color option and a very long and vivacious history .

Chrysanthemumsare assort based on their petal arrangement and shape . accord toPurdue University , some major types let in :

Anemone

Gardener watering tomatoes in the vegetable patch

Daisy - like blooms with a curve crown of darker colored flower petal ; most types are hardy .

Cushion

oft referred to as " azalea " mums , they bloom betimes and bring about low , dense plants ; most varieties are hardy .

The three sisters growing in a garden

Decorative

Many sturdy varieties available with flowers that bow toward flower center or have unorthodox , loose , curving petals or ones that arc away from the essence .

Spoon

orchid on tree

Hardy varieties available , and the petals form a spoon shape with a somewhat cupped look .

quill feather

Blooms feature petals that are square and elongated with a rounded feeling , and they number in audacious varieties .

pruning chrysanthemums

The optimum growing conditions for fall mums are :

plant food

20 - 10 - 20

Large pot of purple mums

develop zona

4 to 9 for garden mums and 7 to 9 for florist mum

Soil

Hands pinching mum flowers

charged and well - draining , fertile , loamy ground .

Sun essential

Full Dominicus , six to eight minute daily

pruners

pH

6.3 to 6.7

Pot Size

Small mums in a pot of soil

Cuttings need 8 - column inch pots while larger , full specimens require 12 to 20 - inch pots

H2O

Moist but not saturated — roughly 1 in per week

Vibrant pot of yellow mums

Pinching

Prune to avoid leggy growth

Pinchingis a very warm but good way to prune mums . Use your finger or a pair of sharppruning shearsand remove the top 2 to 3 inches of the mum with the growing tip .

For potted mama , pinch early buds during the late spring and other summer months . Continue to do so once a month down to the first lot of leaves below the bloom . hold back at the ending of July to encourage big spill flowers .

Work your way around the plant life , aim for longer branches than the others to retort the ma to its lovely , rounded , heavyset development substance abuse .

Any mum that gets routinely pinched will stay inadequate and have a tighter growth habit .

Deadheading

Remove spent blooms to encourage new

Deadheadingis remove bushed orfading flowersto further the plant to develop Modern ones . Deadhead when the flower start to disappearance and drop off their colouring material , not give up them to get to the point where they fall off themselves as this does n’t advance new growth .

This is a popular way toprunewith potted mums because each plant has so many flush that they can cursorily seem unkempt if multiple die at once if you do n’t remove them . However , the multiple flowers signify that you could be deadheading more than once a calendar week as you see dying flowers .

Deadheading is a very quick cognitive process you’re able to do using your finger or a pair of sharp pruning shear .

Get ready for winter dormancy

Eventually , the mums will stop bloom , and the flowers will start to fade and turn up up at the end of September or by mid - October . Thissignals that adormancy periodis coming , and the flora will conserve get-up-and-go to regrow next spring . To get potted mums ready for this stage , you :

Keepwateringevery fourth dimension the top 2 to 3 inches of ground dries out to keep the soil somewhat moist but not waterlogged .

Benefits of Pruning Potted Mums

Keeping your mums vibrant

Several welfare come with pruning potted mums . These prettyfall flowerswill reward you with this light alimony by looking their bestuntil the first hard frost , and a few other significant benefit let in :

Perfect for yourporch or patio , your potted mums can steal the show in the autumn monthswith their colored display . With some care and prison term , you may learn how to prune them to make them bloom longer and keep their recognizable growth wont .

Do you know someone who struggles with keeping their mamma looking groovy ? Share this with them so they can learn how to lop them aright and keep them happy , healthy , and flourish !