2020 What A Summer

September 2020 by Shelley Corey, Owner of The Mum Farm

Weather-wise…what a summer! No complaints here.  Luckily we live in a beautiful state that affords us many natural outdoor wonders to enjoy in our own backyard, all within easy driving distance. Even if you didn’t venture beyond your backyard…it was still a summer we all will remember! I for one, stopped listening for the weather report….we were spoiled with sunny warm days, day after day!

I sure hope your spring annuals brought you as much joy as mine did. A few takeaways from my experience …. the bigger the container, the less watering you need to do! I was able to get away with every other day watering on the big pots! I planted 3 or 4 annuals in 20” diameter pots and what displays I’m having! The more room you give the roots, the more flowers you are rewarded with and the easier to keep them watered! As soon as I slacked off on the fertilizer, the plants let me know with fewer flowers. The hanging baskets filled with trailing begonias….spectacular! I simply took the wires off the baskets and placed the baskets into a tall container. They were nonstop bloomers in partial sun and conversation starters for all that saw them! It will be hard, even for me, to make the switch to my fall display, but the cooler night temps will quickly make the annuals naturally go down hill. 

Let’s talk about switching to our fall displays. I try to keep some of the trailing accents or height elements from my summer pots and add mums to them. I know right now that I have beautiful Swedish ivy and cannas in my pots. Even if the cannas are no longer blooming those big beautiful leaves will look spectacular with the compact growth habit of the mums. The trailing habit of the Swedish ivy compliments the mums also.

Purchasing your mums can be tricky. Many people are disappointed when they purchase mums and they last only a few weeks. Its important to purchase them either for longevity or a particular event. For longevity, I suggest purchasing your mums the second or third week in September, once it starts to cool down. Hot weather is no friend to mums as it rushes their blooming season along too quickly. 

If you have a special date that you need your mums to be spectacular for…ask your grower, they will be able to suggest what stage you should buy them in to hit that desired date.

Mums bloom for 6-8 weeks. They are not re-bloomers like annuals. Cooler weather prolongs their colorful display, whereby unseasonably warm weather hastens their demise! Plants prefer to be evenly watered, meaning that each time they wilt, you shorten the plants life span. Sometimes they never recover from a wilt!  Fertilizer is rarely necessary as the plants have been heavily fertilized throughout their vegetative state to form blossoms. So keep them evenly moist and they will reward you with color right through the fall.

Here comes our fall season, it’s what makes the northeast special. Smile and enjoy all our beautiful autumn colors!