Fall Front Porch

So here is my experience with mums….if you put them out this early, they will die by Halloween/Thanksgiving unless they are well watered or planted in the ground. They only bloom once so if you have mums that have bloomed in September, those flowers will die and not come back unless you plant that baby in the ground while its still vibrant and green. It will come back next year, but you have to keep the stems cut back to about 6 inches until its closer to when you want them to bloom. Then stop cutting about 2 weeks ahead, keep them watered, and they should bloom beautifully. After this, you can let them grow bigger and bigger each year. My grandmother had a couple on each side of her front steps and they were huge. Cutting back seems to just control when they bloom, now how big your base will grow each year.