A Beginner's Guide On How To Care For Mums
Growing chrysanthemums is a form of art – it takes a mixture of different elements or factors: heat, cold, shapes, colors – everything just to form a majestic natural art that makes the bleak fall landscape its canvas. Having these mums around does not only rely on knowing how to care for mums – although this important – but actually appreciating them for their beauty, usefulness and rich history.
Mums are the flowers of Emperors and the symbol of warriors. They give out an air of purity, youthfulness and happiness, although they can also induce sadness because of their relation to death. But just the same, there is just so much relief and beauty from these flowers that it is not uncommon to see them in houses – either potted outside, growing vibrantly in gardens or standing happily in vases.
And since these flowers are pretty much survivors – surviving droughts and the harsh winter cold – growing these flowers is easy as falling off a log. You don't need to have the greenest thumb around to make even a single bud bloom. When you have sun, soil and some patience, your mums will be flowering in no time.
There are so many options available for you when you decide to grow mums in a pot or directly in a garden plot. You can choose whether to grow them annually or perennially – either to trash them after use or keep them for the next season. You can mix and match mums of different forms: quill, decorative, anemone and pom pom chrysanthemums – to name a few – and mums of different colors ranging from different shades of red, yellow, orange, purple and white.
Whether buying chrysanthemums as seeds for the first time or just pruning old ones for re-growth always remember to give them all the sun and moisture they need. The mums' growth is dependent on these. When they lack sunlight, they tend to grow abnormally since it is the length of the day that makes them bloom; while too soggy or dry soil can affect the mums' shallow roots and cause the spread of diseases.
So if you must know how to care for mums, just remember to give them at least 6 hours of sunlight everyday, keep them well-hydrated and cool yet warm on a frosty winter. Of course, it will also be perfect if you give them a treat once in awhile. Pinch their branches so they can grow prettier – all bushy and shapely – as well as healthier by adding in some fertilizer or making them an organic mulch. Keep them away from danger, especially from pests that can attack them without warning.
When you know the tricks of how to care for mums and see your mums bloom, you will surely burst with pride for how beautifully they turned out and probably totally understand why they have been revered for more than 2,500 years. The Japanese certainly didn't make a mistake in choosing these flowers to represent their country. After all, with their strong characteristics yet gentle features Chrysanthemums certainly suit their name, which in Latin literally means “golden flower.”