How to Keep Fall Mums Blooming Longer: Expert Care and Pruning Tips

Are your chrysanthemums starting to lose their pop? Read on for what gardening experts say about how to encourage these fall favorites to stick around a bit longer, as well as tips to care for them throughout the year.

How to Best Care for Fall Mums

Chrysanthemums, also known as mums, are one of the most popular flowers this time of year. The hearty blooms are distinguished by their classic fall colors and a sweet and spicy scent that exemplify the beauty of the season. Because they can withstand cooler temperatures, they make a good transition flower for the fall months. Mums generally begin to bloom in late July, lasting through October.

While mums are resilient flowers, you can encourage them to bloom even longer with proper care. According to Amber Noyes, horticulturist, ecologist, and executive editor at GardeningChores.com, “Most mums are now grown in greenhouses because they’re ‘picky’ with lighting conditions." Noyes tells gardeners, "If you grow them outdoors, they need full sunlight, which is at least 6 hours of bright light a day on average.”

Indoor mums thrive with bright but indirect light, according to Noyes. She explains that “Mums are also photoperiodic, which means that they blossom only when the hours of light are just right. In fact, they will bloom in autumn or fall, because they will flower when they have 16 hours of darkness and 8 hours of daylight, which are the optimal conditions.”

When it comes to soil, mums fare the best with well-drained clay, sand, or loam-based soil when planted inside. Noyes notes that outdoor mums do best with a "potting mix of 1:3 good quality potting soil, 1:3 coarse sand or other draining material, and 1:3 peat moss or coco coir."