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Help with my new mums (deadheading)

gardenbug
9 years ago

My first time with Chrysanthemums. I just bought some mums from my local nursery. I have them in the pot outside in the sun. I noticed that some of the flowers are fading. Do I just snap the top off or am I suppose to cut anything? If so where do I cut it.? Is this how to get new buds? Thank you.

Comments (12)

  • southerngardening24
    9 years ago

    with both thumbs Ken?

  • ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
    9 years ago

    yeah.. its tricky ... lol .. and not very efficient ...

    how about.. thumb and forefinger???? ... the ones you make a loser sign with ... lol

    ken

  • southerngardening24
    9 years ago

    lol

  • gardenbug
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    Thank you Ken. I tried it with both thumbs but it wouldn't work for me, so I used my forefinger and thumb and 'VOILA' off she came. lol

  • ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
    9 years ago

    congrats... i was worried you might think i was calling YOU a loser.. rather than myself ....

    just keep at it.. until its late fall.. and nothing is left .... then decide if you are going to cut it down for winter.. of leave it until spring ....

    in my MI ... many mums were NOT winter hardy .... but i would try ... cutting them down to about 2 inches.. then mulch heavily ...

    i dont know what to tell you .. in your zone ...

    ken

  • southerngardening24
    9 years ago

    What was I thinking buying all those mums? I just can't shear them down and risk cutting off any new buds. The joy of mums!

  • catkin
    9 years ago

    Slugs have deadheaded some of mine for me but I'm not sure how many thumbs they used! :winkwink:

  • emrogers
    7 years ago

    @ken_adrian, i know this is an old thread but i did not want to start a new one for a similar question. Since you seem to know what you're talking about it when it comes to mums.

    I bought two huge mums at a local grocery store last year in fall sometime. We set them out obviously for fall but i just love them so much and because i seem to see my plants like rescued kittens when i find great bargains i hate to get rid of them. Any who! i took care of them last fall and put them in rather big planters. they came back for me this year and are a tad bit smaller which is fine by me. When i cut back my roses Feb 14th the next week i went out and fed and tidy up my garden beds including these two mums. when i went out to see the mums they had these woody sticks and some foliage. i cut all the woody sticks, thinking they were dead! either way, i'm just realizing this now as i'm typing this. not sure if this is why they're smaller now.

    so it's been warmer here in Dallas already. they are in full sun and i noticed that they are starting to 'break' and few have bloomed. I would love to see them in full bloom both in summer and fall but do not know if that's a possibility and if so, how do i achieve that. if not then fall is fine by me. But do i start pinching the blooms off now?

    thanks!

    Elce

  • ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
    7 years ago

    to make the big round full fall mum balls .. here in MI ... when they get about 6 to 8 inches tall ... i would cut them back to 2 to 3 inches .... forcing each spring to send out 2 or 3 new sprigs ...


    when those parts again got to 6 to 8 inches..[plus whatever you left] .... repeat ... [


    and then again.. when those got to same additional 6 to 8 inches ... repeat ...


    that was roughly.. in MI ... that was later june, july and august ... so that by late sept ... they were again 6 to 8 inches taller .... and it was time to stop pruning ... and to set buds for the fall show ... and by this time they would have been a foot or two tall ...


    i dont know what kind of mums you have ...but you bought them in some form.. so you need to recreate it ...


    IF you let them bloom now... they may not bloom in fall ... there procreation work might finish early ...


    if you want to post a pic.. MAYBE THIS WONT WORK ...


    AND IF YOU BUY SOME IN FALL ...oops... just look inside.. and see how it was done ...


    bottom line.. they are not a fall blooming plant.. but thru pruning.. we can force fall bloom ...


    thx for the kind words ...


    ken



  • emrogers
    7 years ago
    Thanks Ken for the advice. I will definitely post a pic once I'm home.

    They do have some shape to them Bc I noticed they have like a tomato cage looking thing inside to help create that round perfect look. No biggie. I left it as is.

    I'll go home and start punching off the blooms and the breaks as well. I would prefer it to bloom in fall.

    You're right I don't know what kind they are.

    Elce
  • emrogers
    7 years ago
    Ken see attached pics. I also removed all the blooms which were only about 4.
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