I have a lot of Mums and would like for them to wait until fall to bloom. They are up and some about eight or ten inches tall. Do I need to start cutting them back now or wait until later in the season? Thank you, flowerlady
My mum suffered some from being stored in the garage over the winter. It looked completely dead. I trimmed off all of the brown stuff and it immediately started to put on new growth. Come to think of it... it did the same thing the previous winter. Anyhow... it grew back nice and green and still didn't bloom until the fall. Hope this was some help on what to do.. or NOT to do!
Generally you cut them back in the spring to about 4 inches above the base, then pinch off the tips about 3 times during the summer. Don't pinch them again after the middle of July, then they will be bushy and produce fall blooms. If you want fewer but larger blooms you can pinch off some of the buds growing on side shoots thru August, then the plant will put it's energy into those few left.
Is cutting the mums back to four inches too severe? One year I cut a lady's mums short and they did not grow that tall.
