Fashionably late mums

A the season advances, fall color beats a retreat. Despairing gardeners across the South now have a new, improved tool to fight brown in the garden: late-blooming mums. They are genetically hardwired to come into full bloom when the rest of the garden palette is getting tired. These perennials are also bred for a wide range of colors and for good behavior. The new mums are uniform in size and have sturdy cross branching, which keeps them from falling apart in storms. And because they bloom late, they bloom longer; cool temperatures are kind to the flowers.

These mums are easy to grow. In garden centers, they are often labeled as "season-extending" mums. Shop in nurseries that have knowledgeable staffs; they can point the way to the late bloomers and tell you what color each selection will be. Plant these mums when the flowers are just hard, green buds. This takes a little faith, but it gives them enough time to root into the soil before blooming. Well-rooted plants will dry out less quickly, which means the flowers will last days and weeks longer. Finding them in the tight-bud stage may require a search, as most nurseries stock mums that are starting to show color or are in full bloom. That's because these are the ones that tend to sell best.

To have extra long-lasting color, select hues that blend easily with light brown. When the first hard frost settles on the flowers in late fall, the petals darken along their edges. Pastel, yellow, and white blooms look brown and withered. Darker colors don't show the frost damage at all. Red, bronze, and gold mums look just fine after a little cold.

What Happens Next Fall?

Garden mums-late or otherwisecome back year after year. The key to keeping them looking good is cutting them back. If you're too softhearted to prune, your mums will bloom twice-in spring and autumn. However, they'll have long, floppy stems with pitiful little flowers.

In late winter, cut dead stems to the ground. New leaves will sprout from underground roots. In midspring, when mums fill out with leaves and flowerbuds, shear plants down to 8 inches tall. Around the Fourth of July, prune and shape them by pinching off soft green stem tips. Test to make sure you're tipping only soft tissue by pinching the stems with your fingernails, and take off only that pliable part of the stem. Then, let the mums grow. They'll develop flowerbuds for brilliant bloom when you want it-in late autumn. LUCINDA MAYS

MOREMUMS

Some late-blooming favorites include 'Crown Jewel' (plum), 'Emily' (lavender), 'Autumn Denise' (red-bronze), 'Heather' (plum-lavender), 'Raquel' (wine red), 'Grace' (orangebronze), and 'Sunny Denise' (pastel yellow).

Copyright Southern Progress Corporation Nov 2003
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