Traditional fall mums are popping up for sale everywhere, even though it is still a little early.  They prefer cool weather to hot, but with summer annuals starting to fade, folks are anxious to put out something new. 

Mums fill the bill.  But there is one thing you have to know about mums….

Fortunately, it is has been my experience that there is ONLY one thing – that is, one key to keeping your mums gorgeous and blooming, even in a still-hot month like September.

Water.  Water, water, water.  Skip one day of watering your mums, and you might get away with it.  Skip two and they are history.  Mums are notoriously unforgiving when it comes to letting them dry out, so don’t do it!

Water them early in the day and water them EVERY day.  If your mum is potted and has good drainage (a necessity), then it is just about impossible to over-water them.  Really. 

Some folks like to plant them inground, but I’ve never had much success with that.  I put them in the yard and on the porch in pots and they’re just the coolest autumn bloomers!  As inexpensive as mums are, even when you buy them from garden centers instead of box stores (which is always preferable), they are well worth the few bucks they cost when you get a few months of beauty in return.