Mum Fertilizer

Every 1–2 weeks in spring and summer, dropping to every 4 weeks in fall and winter. Mum Fertilizer goes on at 2 tablespoons per gallon of water in a watering can, or a hose-end sprayer on the 1-ounce setting for borders. For perennial mums, spring and summer feeding is what matters most: that’s when your mum builds the leafy framework that carries the fall display, and the formula’s phosphorus and potassium support the buds that follow.

Around early July. Pinch the growing tips every few weeks from spring until then, and each pinch forces branching, which is what turns a few stems into a dense mound covered in buds. Pinching past midsummer removes the buds forming for fall and delays or cancels the display. Feeding and pinching work together: Mum Fertilizer supplies the nutrients for all that new branching, and pinching gives your mum its shape. Neither substitutes for the other.

Often not, and it’s usually not your fault. Most mums sold in fall are florist types bred for one spectacular season, and they’re planted too late to root in before frost. Hardy garden mums planted in spring, fed through the summer with Mum Fertilizer, given time to establish and left standing over winter come back reliably. If you want perennial mums, buy them in spring from the perennial section rather than in September, and start feeding as growth begins.

Two causes, both fixable. The first is not pinching: unpinched mums grow upright, get top-heavy in bloom and split open from the center. The second is too much nitrogen, from lawn fertilizer reaching the bed or a high-nitrogen all-purpose feed, which pushes soft, stretched growth. Mum Fertilizer holds nitrogen at a deliberate 3% and leads with potassium at 5.1% for exactly that reason. Pinch through early July, feed at 2 tablespoons per gallon, and plants stay compact.

Water consistently, since potted mums wilt fast in fall sun and every wilt costs you flowers, and keep them out of harsh afternoon heat. Deadhead spent blooms so your mum keeps working on the remaining buds. Feeding does its part earlier: Mum Fertilizer through spring and summer builds the plant that sets buds in the first place, and its potassium supports the water regulation that holds petals firm once they open.

All of the nitrogen in Mum Fertilizer is nitrate, absorbed directly by roots, so it starts working with the first watering; expect greener, sturdier foliage within 1–2 weeks. Bloom results follow your mum's calendar. Feeding through spring and summer is what produces the bud count you see in September and October, so for perennial mums the payoff lands with the fall display rather than in a few weeks. Yellowing lower leaves on potted mums usually respond sooner as new growth comes in.