Q. I planted some mums last year and they were beautiful. They came back this year and are growing wonderfully, and look fantastic. My question: I’ve been told that they will blossom in early summer and then again in the fall and that if I snip off the buds in the early flowering, then the fall flowering will be even better. What do you say about flowering mums?
-Chesapeake, Virginia
A. Sometimes, mums are sold in the spring with buds so that the customer can see what color the flowers will be, but fall flowering mums do not bloom in early summer. Depending on the variety, they can start blooming any time from August on. Some of the older varieties, my favorites, do not even begin to bloom until October. Again, depending on the variety, mums can vary in height from twelve inches to twenty-four, even thirty-six inches tall. The problem with the taller ones is that they tend to flop. For these, I suggest cutting them in half once they are eighteen inches high. This will make them shorter and bushier.
-Bobbie Schwartz
Bobbie’s Green Thumb
Shaker Heights, Ohio
