Fall Mum Chrysanthemum

We have all had the experience of buying fall mums, planting them in the garden, and having a few of them come back for a year or two. This mum is pretty much the same deal. It isn't guaranteed to come back every year like a shasta daisy but in our experience, it has the best chance of over-wintering for any multi-color mum that you can grow from seed. Plants grow to a height of 2 feet and are covered with 2-inch blooms, several 100 per plant. The color range is broad. If you start in late winter you will get blooms the first Fall.

50 seeds

PLANTING

Chrysanthemum indicum

Perennial, zone 6-9

Germination: 10-20 days

Germination Temperature: Optimum soil temperatures are 60-70ºF

Seed Planting Depth: Sow on the surface and press into the soil, seeds need light to germinate

Starting Indoors: Start indoors 8-10 weeks before the last frost. Provide 60-70ºF soil temperatures. Transplant after the last frost date, 12” apart.

Sowing Outdoors: Direct sow in mid-spring or fall, Sow 3-5 seeds every 12"

Growth Habit: Upright

Height and Width:  24” x 18” 

Spacing: 12-16” apart

Light Needs:  Full sun, part sun in hot areas

Soil Needs: Average to fertile, well-drained

Approximate days to flower from seed: Blooms late in the season the first year when started early indoors otherwise blooms the second year.

Uses: Flower beds, containers, cottage and wildflower gardens, cut flowers

Care: Water seedlings regularly until established. Amend the soil with compost before transplanting. Keep plants pinched back into early to mid-summer to encourage branching for more flower buds.