A Diary On How To Care For Mums By Inca The Mum (April-September Entries)
Oh you're still reading along. Nothing much happened over the month of March anyway. Like I said, Mrs. Sanders is really a pro when it comes to Chrysanthemum care. She does know the ropes of how to care for mums.
Months have passed and still I'm waiting to bloom:
April
The beds are ready and I'm outside of the greenhouse, waiting to be rooted in the newly prepared beds. Mrs. Sanders needs to pinch me again. I don't mind. It's supposed to make me the prettiest and bushiest plant in the garden.
I love the special attention Mrs. Sanders gives me. She makes sure to water me early in the day everyday and she picks over my leaves, giving special attention to the undersides on which aphids and greenflies may thrive.
May:
Mrs. Sanders prepared a bed for us, which I see was carefully raked and was set with a wire mesh. According to Lindy, a lavender-pink, quilled incurve mum, this mesh was made for support. It feels so good to be standing in my own spot in the square wire mesh, on moist soil and feeling the warmth of the sun touching my stem and little leaves. Mrs. Sanders planted me a little shallow in the soil, which is good because I don't like being in too deep.
P.S. I'm scared of slugs, one almost attacked Lindy. It's a good thing Mrs. Sanders placed some of those things – I think she called them pellets or slug pubs – which drives those creepy crawlers away. Phew!
3rd week of June:
I got pinched again this week. I can't wait to see how this pinching can help me develop the most beautiful blooms. And my, my, it's getting hotter everyday. It's a good thing Mrs. S does spritz us with some water or else, I swear, I'd be so dried up by now. I was nearly infested with aphids, but the spritzing got them out. So that was really good.
July:
I'm feeling myself growing a bit taller. Mrs. S adjusted the height of the wire mesh to support my growing stems. I'm getting watered only about once a week now and my soil got a bit of something extra today: fertilizer.
August:
I got my first few buds! But it was sad when two or three of them had to go. It was because only one should grow in each of my stems. That's a bummer. I want to be the most flowered plant in the garden. But that wouldn't be possible according to Lindy. Only my terminal buds would look the prettiest when in bloom anyway, she said. Mrs. S added in more fertilizer – probably so that my flowers will look prettier.
September:
Hooray! My flowers are in full bloom. I can tell that Mrs. Sanders is very satisfied with the blooms that are on my stems. They're bright bronze-orange and she said that they will make a great bouquet for her daughter's wedding. Some of my flowers were cut from me and were left to stand in a foot of water for 24 hours. After that, they were arranged into a beautiful bouquet along with the other vibrantly colored pom pom chrysanthemums.
I wonder if other people know how to care for mums like Mrs. Sanders does. With all the love and tender care she's shown me, I'm glad that I was able to share with her my blooms and make her happy. I really can't wait for next September!