Winterizing my mums

Prepare mums for winter after the first hard frost. Mulch up to 4 inches with straw or shredded hardwood around the plants. Pinch off dead blooms to clean up the plant if you want, but leave branches intact. Mums have a better chance of surviving if you wait to prune old stems until spring.

Although garden mums are often called hardy mums, they may not survive the winter if drainage is poor or if you live in a very cold climate. If your mums survive the winter, you'll see new growth developing around the base of the plant in early spring. As soon as the weather warms, pull away mulch to allow new shoots to pop up. Prune any old, dead growth from last year.

Pinching Mums

The key to those full, rounded domes of blooms that you associate with mums is well-timed pruning called pinching. If you bought large, full florist mums in the fall, they've already been pinched and are ready for planting. Garden mums that you planted in the spring need pinching for maximum bloom and the best plant shape. Start pinching once the stems reach about 6 inches tall. Using your thumb and index finger, remove a couple of inches of the growing tip of a stem. Repeat the process whenever there are 3 to 5 inches of new growth, about every 2 to 4 weeks, until early July. Each pinched stem will divide into two new ones, creating a dense, compact growth habit. Stop pinching to ensure good bud formation and blooms in the fall.