Mum’s the Word

Who says the season for flowers in the garden is over? The fall foliage isn’t the only color left in the garden for those who planned ahead last spring, and if you haven’t, now is a great time to make notes for next year. Meanwhile, you can still add some temporary color by popping some fall mums into the empty spots around the yard.

Ordinarily, mums would be just about finished blooming by now, but the cool, wet weather this year seems to have delayed things by a week or two all summer.

The fall mums available at nurseries are technically perennial, but don’t expect too many to return in spring. They require full sun and excellent drainage, and when they are planted this time of year while in full bloom, they don’t have the time or the energy to get rooted in properly before winter sets in. Also, over the years breeders have focused on larger flowers and bushy habit at the expense of winter hardiness, with the exception of a line of mums developed a few years ago by the University of Minnesota. That said, your best chance of getting your new plants through the winter is by making sure they are planted in a spot with perfect drainage, and by planting them a little higher than the surrounding bed to be sure no water will settle on the crown, especially during spring thaw. When very cold weather sets in, they can be mulched with pine boughs or some similar airy material, but never with bark mulch or leaves that will hold moisture against the crown. Remove the mulch in early spring.

A more permanent way to add mums to the garden is to plant them in spring, along with your other perennials. They are not often available in the nurseries in the spring, but Bluestone Perennials ( bluestoneperennials.com) offered over a dozen varieties in last year’s catalog. Planted in the spring, they will be able to get established before facing harsh winter conditions. To keep them bushy, they may need to be cut back once or twice during the growing season, but never after July 4, when the buds begin to form.

Other plants can also be valuable additions to the fall garden for their flowers, colorful foliage, berries or interesting bark. Asters are colorful this time of year in pink, blue, purple and white. Heights range from about one to five feet, making them useful in either the front or back of the border. Grasses, while not brightly colored, lend structure, height and texture to the garden all year, but really come into their own in the fall and continue to lend interest for most of the winter. Sweet autumn clematis (Clematis paniculata) has just finished blooming with fragrant, white, star-shaped flowers, but the puffy seed heads will remain attractive for a while yet, billowing over an arbor or up a trellis.

One of my favorite shrubs in the fall is seven-son flower (Heptacodium miconioides) which is still in bloom with fragrant white flowers that attract migrating hummingbirds. After bloom, the sepals turn a bright red and remain that way until hard frost.

There are many more options for the fall garden than I have space to list here, but I hope I have convinced you that the garden doesn’t have to look tired and shabby this time of year. All it takes is a little planning, as usual.