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by Lydia Holley February 12, 2024
In the fall, you will find balls of chrysanthemums for sale blooming in such profusion they are hard to resist. Many of these are hardy enough to come back year after year. Some may even spread. However, most will stay short and their blooms may become less reliable as the years pass. For a mum that is tall, robust, and almost care-free, consider planting old-fashioned garden mums.
Old-fashioned garden mums reliably return from year to year and increase their spread each spring, so they are often divided and the clumps shared with other gardeners. These mums grow to three feet tall. If you like, you can control their height and encourage a more bushy growth habit by cutting back their stems during the summer. Mums like full sun and a soil that drains well. They are deer and rabbit resistant.
‘Country Girl’ and ‘Clara Curtis’ are the most popularly grown old-fashioned garden mums, and if you are lucky enough to find them, they will give you years of joy. Some say Country Girl and Clara Curtis are the same plant while some insist the blooms are a little different. In years past, Henderson County Master Gardeners have sold both Country Girl and Clara Curtis in their annual spring plant sale.
Plant old-fashioned garden mums with other fall-blooming plants such as asters, dwarf goldenrods, lantanas, marigolds, or salvias. Because old-fashioned mums can grow tall on straight stems, they also look great mixed into meadow plantings, so do not be afraid to plant them alongside ornamental grasses. They look especially lovely next to pink muhly grass. Since roses often put on a fall blush of blooms, you may wish to grow old-fashioned mums in front of tall roses or behind dwarf cultivars.
Butterflies also appreciate the blooms of old-fashioned garden mums during this time of year. Mine bloom alongside fall asters and the butterflies can not seem to get enough of either of them.
Fall is a fabulous time for your garden to put on new blooms. For a reliable, carefree plant, consider growing old-fashioned garden mums.
For more information, call 903-675-6130, email [email protected].
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