This mum plant is on its way to falling over once it blooms so time to trim it. (Photo by Charlotte Ekker Wiggins)

Keep Mums Trimmed

You would think I would be following my own advice but I have a good reason, I don’t always remember where I’ve planted chrysanthemums. These hardy plants are excellent bug repellants as well as pretty fall color. I tend to sneak them into corners and other areas where I have a little room.

So if you’re like one of my gardening friends who doesn’t trim chrysanthemums, you can expect your mums to grow a good 3 feet tall That is, if they don’t first fall over. Those cute round, low growing plants you see sold in the fall have been trimmed through the growing season into that size so we all need to do the same if we want mums to be low and round this fall.

Now I don’t particularly want round mums but I do want low ones that don’t fall over. So when I find one that has escaped my earlier notice, I gently remove the top, leaving about a 4-inch growing plant base. Snipping off the tops will force the plant to branch out and be bushier instead of taller.

I left the bottom about 4 inches high and removed the mum tops. (Photo by Charlotte Ekker Wiggins)

Don’t toss out those cut off top knots, you can get more mums out of those.

If the ground is soft, I use a nearby stick to make nearby holes and plant the trimmed tops into them past the lowest growing node. That way new mums will grow and make the plant looks wider.

Or I may take those trimmed tops to another part of the garden and plant them there. Once in the ground, remember to water to encourage root growth. You can also place them in a container with water and roots should appear in three weeks or so.

Gently tuck those mum tops back into soft ground, or make a hole, to grow more plants (Photo by Charlotte Ekker Wiggins)

Either way, don’t toss out those trimmed tops, you can use them elsewhere in the garden and have more help with natural bug repelling.

I use these stainless steel plant snips to cleanly cut off the plant tops. Mark them so you don’t confuse them with the ones you use for your sewing and quilting. It’s amazing how handy thread snips can be for a variety of uses.

And who doesn’t like long-lasting flowers, mums are some of the longest so the more the better!

Charlotte