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Midsummer mum tips: Pinch now for more later

Sacramento Digs Gardening
BY Debbie Arrington PUBLISHED JUL 8, 2020

Pinching back mums promotes more flowers and more compact, bushier growth. (Photos: Debbie Arrington)

Favorite fall flower benefits from July attention

A pinch in time makes more mums.

Chrysanthemums are a favorite flower of fall. While mum plants are very tough, a little attention now will lead to many more brilliant-hued blooms in October and November.

Mums are divided into two categories: Garden and Exhibition. Usually grouped in the genus Dendranthema , the Garden varieties include cushion mums and florists’ staples with lots and lots of flowers per plant. Exhibition mums tend to be more stingy with just one flower or cluster per stem.

Left to grow without interruption, Exhibition mums often will form one long, winding main stem that just keeps getting longer and lankier. That usually leads to one bloom or flower cluster at the tip – no matter how long or tall the plant. To get more flowers, they must be pinched.

Usually, mum cuttings are first “pinched” when they grow to about 8 inches tall to keep the plant lower to the ground and to create a bushier look.

This lanky crysanthemum needs

to be pinched.

Taller young plants benefit from being pinched, too. Otherwise, their long main stems start to snake around for lack of support.

By pinching back that terminal bud, the mum will sprout lateral buds lower down on the stem. Those side buds will create more flowers – perfect for fall bouquets.

For a more compact and fuller bush in the garden, pinch back the laterals, too, after they’ve grown out 6 to 8 inches.

Some new Dendranthema mum varieties such as Igloo mums develop that mound look without pinching. Those mums start blooming in midsummer. After that first flush of flowers, cut the plants back by half. They’ll produce a second wave of flowers in fall.

Other keys to memorable mums:

* Mums like good drainage and consistently moist soil. Water deeply once a week plus more in hot weather. Newly planted mums or first-year cuttings need water two or three times a week. During triple-digit temperatures (such as Sacramento’s forecast for the next several days), they may need extra irrigation every day – especially if grown in containers.

* Mums appreciate mulch. It maintains that crucial soil moisture. Their favorite: Crumbled dried leaves.

* Fertilize once now in early or mid-July and again in mid-August, then cut off the plant food. Mums prefer fertilizer with more phosphorus (such as 5-10-5) to promote flower production and strong roots.

* Mums need full sun (at least six hours a day) to bloom. If your mums refuse to flower, they may be getting too much shade.

For more on mums, check out the website of the National Chrysanthemum Society, www.mums.org .

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fall flowers gardening Sacramento pinching chrysanthemums summer gardens summer weather summer flowers

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Garden Checklist for week of May 5

Survey your garden after the May 4 rainstorm. Heavy rain and gusty winds can break the neck of large flowers such as roses. Also:

* Keep an eye on new transplants or seedlings; they could take a pounding from the rain.

* Watch out for powdery mildew. Warmth following moist conditions can cause this fungal disease to “bloom,” too. If you see a leaf that looks like it’s dusted with powdered sugar, snip it off.

* After the storm, start setting out tomato transplants, but wait on the peppers and eggplants (they want warmer nights). Pinch off any flowers on new transplants to make them concentrate on establishing roots instead of setting premature fruit.

* Trim dead flowers but not leaves from spring-flowering bulbs such as daffodils and tulips. Those leaves gather energy to create next year's flowers. Also, give the bulbs a fertilizer boost after bloom.

* Pinch chrysanthemums back to 12 inches for fall flowers. Cut old stems to the ground.

* Mulch around plants to conserve moisture and control weeds.

* From seed, plant beans, beets, cantaloupes, carrots, corn, cucumbers, melons, pumpkins, radishes and squash.

* Plant onion sets.

* In the flower garden, plant seeds for asters, cosmos, celosia, marigolds, salvia, sunflowers and zinnias. Transplant petunias, zinnias, geraniums and other summer bloomers.

* Plant perennials and dahlia tubers for summer bloom.

* Don’t wait; plant summer bulbs, such as gladiolus and tuberous begonias.

* Harvest cabbage, lettuce, peas and green onions.

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