I know these aren't gessies but I had to show you this pic. These "bushes" are actually my mums! They are waist high. I put some compost in the bed last fall when planting and this is what happened. The brothers and sisters are planted in a different area and are only knee high. Problem is...they are budding and starting to bloom. It will take me forever to cut all of those buds off for fall. There is a poor rose bush in the background getting smothered by the mums.
Connie
Yowza! maybe cut the bushes back? Don't know if I'd have the courage to do that though. The rosebush didn't get any compost?
holy moly,what mums.lol
bonnie
I have been looking for tea roses. I dug up and took out the rose bush...red by the way...and was wanting to repace it with a tea rose. There is a rose volunteer growing between the the two mums in front. The back one is a volunteer too. It is hovering over the mum on the right. The whole bed got about 4 inches of compost after the bed was dug up. No fertilizer used here. This is what is happening....
Oh my goodness! I have never, ever seen Mums that size! Why is it a problem if some of them are budding up to bloom? Don't you want blooms? Or are you wanting them to bloom later in the year? I don't know anything about growing mums but they must have loved that compost! I bet they will be gorgeous in full bloom!
To get the plants covered with blooms in the fall, you are supposed to remove the buds that form in June-July.
Okay, the yellow ones are starting to bloom also. Oh, my, what forum do I go to and ask? Where is ecrane? My neighbor asked me what I was taking a pic of and I told her. She couldn't believe it either! She thought it was bushes of some kind to fill in the corner of the house.
Connie
Here is the Mum forum on Dave's.
http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/f/mums/all/
Thanks Sally!!!
I am like Bonnie,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,Holy Moly, I have never seen mums that large.
Isn't that crazy? No word yet with the posts I made on 2 other forums :(
Maybe they are not that active. Do you have a nursery you like? You can call or go and ask them maybe if you trust someone there.
Why don't you Dmail ecrane or one of the other experts on the plant ID forum?
The only "nurseries" close by are Home Depot and Wal-Mart...don't think I will ask anyone there lol. I noticed 3gardners is asking the same question. I know I don't need to cut these back to make them bush out more, that's for sure. I am kind of like Phoebe and don't have the courage. Liz is the only expert that I know of right now. I think I will D-mail her and see if she answers. Good idea, Lynn. Thanks!
Yes, asking a real good nursery expert would be better. I am queen of cutting plants back but I am not sure about Mums. I love to trim things, but I would be afraid to tell you on that plant.
Mighty Mums!!! My mother just goes around and pinches the buds off. But she has nothing like yours!! Awesome!!
Yes, a little trim is easy, I would hate to tell you to trim too much and have them die. Hope you find the answer.
Maybe just pinching all the buds would be best then, so by fall you will have tons of full, beautiful blooms! Can't wait to see pic's of them in full bloom, what a sight that will be!
I "think" I will go ahead and TRY to cut all of the buds off. It is raining today so I will probably start tomorrow. If you all don't see me back on here in a few days, please call the local authorities and let them know where to look for me. I may get lost in the jungle. I hope I am making the right decision to do this.
Oh Lin, can you just imagine these loaded with blooms this fall? I alternated yellow and burgandy and I can't wait either! The neighbors will be suprised because everyone thinks these are bushes.
Connie
Connie,
Those ARE bushes ... Great big, Mum Bushes, LOL! Like Mums on Steroids! They are going to be Amazing when they are full of blooms in the fall!
I wouldn't do any major cutting/pruning ... just gently "pinch" each bud. I know it will probably take you forever, LOL ... maybe you should warn a neighbor to watch out for you in case you do get lost in that mum jungle! ^_^
Rather than painstakingly clipping each bud individually, I would just go at them w/ large or electric clippers like I was trimming or shaping a bush. They will fill out again nicely, I mean, they look pretty vigorous! A nice trim will probably do them good. Don't forget to post photos in the fall!
Hi, here is a sight that may help.....KING'S MUMS.....they are mostly about large show mums. When is your first frost/freeze date? It may be a little late to pinch them back and have them reset buds for them to bloom before then.
Lacewing
Oh, well...leave it to Connie! It stopped raining so I decided to go out and cut off buds. The three in front that are knee high were a breeze. (Connie is thinking "oh, this isn't as bad as I thought") I move over to the "jungle" and I filled a wal-mart sack 4 times and still have a lot more to cut...ON JUST ONE OF THEM!!!! I come inside (still bent over lol) and read on the other thread that they may not bloom if I cut them now. :( I am just sick now. Damage has been done to three regular size ones and half a big one. Isn't that the way it goes sometimes?
Connie
Okay final answer Because they are hardy mums and if they survive all of my pinching and cutting, I will leave the rest alone to see what they do for fall. I will see how the part does that I messed with compared to the untouched. We can compare and then next year everyone can D-mail me and say "pinch" or "don't pinch". What do you all think?
Connie
Connie, I think they might be okay and still bloom for you in the fall. I found this info while googling, it says to quit pinching at the beginning of summer. Scroll down to the heading, Pinching Chrysanthum Flowers: http://landscaping.about.com/od/landscapecolor/p/chrysanthemums.htm
This is the beginning of summer so don't you think if you pinch now, they will have time to set new buds by fall blooming?
Oh Lin, if you weren't in FL. I would put a star on your forehead! That makes me feel better :) Maybe they will rebud. I will post pics here as they start showing blooms. Then everyone can decide what to do next year. The one on the left is where I started working. The right was left alone. The 3 up front were all cut and pinched back. Wow, an experiment...
Connie
Oooh ... I could use a star on my forehead sometimes! LOL.
I really think your plants will be fine. I found another site that says to pinch until July 15: http://grant-adams.wsu.edu/master_gardeners/News%20Columns/NC-Garden%20Chrysanthemums.pdf
And in this info: http://ohioline.osu.edu/hyg-fact/1000/1219.html somewhere down the page it says pinching should be done May-July and discontinue pinching by August 1.
And more reading: http://muskogeephoenixonline.com/blogs/MollyDay/2009/07/july-chrysanthemum-care.html
and more: http://www.denverplants.com/ezine/9_03.htm
^_^ LOL, The "Google Queen" is gonna stop now!
Whoo Hoo!!!!! They Google Queen has saved the day!!! So now what would you do? Leave it to see what happens or finish debudding? It will take a few days to debud. You are awesome!!!!
Depending on how soon your fall weather will be there, I'd go ahead and disbud them. I'm not sure if this is the time to fertilize but maybe disbud and then give them a shot of diluted fertilizer in a week or two?
Oh, but please don't listen to me, I know nothing about growing mums, LOL.
hmm ... this article (Denver Plants) says fertilize monthly until August: http://www.denverplants.com/ezine/fall-garden-mums.htm so, maybe you could give them one dose of plant food by the end of the month?
Oh, but you are learning very fast! I think I will. Fall will arrive late Sept. to early Oct. OMG....I might be able to build a tree house in them if I fertilize them too. LOL! I think I need to split some of these this spring when they pop back up and send you a few. Something else to add to your beautiful yard and you now know how to grow them with all that research you have done for me :)
Oh, I would love a division of those beautiful mums when you divide them next spring! We can do a trade!
Make a note of that, Lin. You will see them on this thread when they start blooming and I will update as they "hopefully" bloom out.
Ok, I'll be watching!
Lin, I hate to burst your bubble, but I don't think we can grow the hardy mums in our climates..........only the annual kind................
