A Sentiment

God knew what He was doing when He sent a gentle breeze and brought a lovely butterfly to set my heart at ease. The happiness of your friendship and the gentleness of your words have touched my life in special ways and now I feel assured. Thank you for your loyalty and for reading everyday. I only hope you find things to make a happy day.

Friday, August 29, 2008

Belgian Mums








I think that I mentioned that I am not crazy about mums. My husband really likes them and we always buy a few just to put a spark of color in the fall garden. I haven't had luck with them coming back the next year. I researched on the internet for perennial mums. and this is what I found.


Chrysanthemums have always been the premier fall plant. Belgian Mums have everyone talking. These are no ordinary fall-flowering, winter-hardy chrysanthemums. Belgian mums produce an abundance of flower buds in a quantity much larger than any other mum.
These plants have so many buds that gardeners are quick to realize their superiority.
If you tried to count the buds on these plants, you most likely would need a calculator. Close examination shows that many have upwards of 600 buds ready to open. An exceptional feature of the Belgian mum is its durability. While other mums break branches easily, the Belgian mums can take a lot of abuse without damage.The Belgian mums are mounded in shape and require no pinching or staking. They come in varieties that are early, mid-season and late fall blooming that will give us gardeners an extra long season of bloom if we buy accordingly.
After the mums succumb to freezing weather, trim the foliage back to just above the ground and give them a good layer of mulch. It is not uncommon to have a good spring bloom of mums. After this bloom, cut them back again to get ready for fall.


I found a nursery online and ordered them. They arrived day before yesterday and they are now in the ground. I put them where I had asters that looked sickly. I hope that I can believe what they say about them. They are safe to zone 5. I will cover them with a heavy mulch and keep my fingers crossed.


Balisha

4 comments:

Elias Thalassis said...

Good morning blog from Halkida Greece

Judy said...

I have never been able to get them back the next season but maybe I am doing something wrong. The ones in the pictures are really pretty.Have a good weekend.

Anonymous said...

I'm not a big fan of Mums either Balisha. But they do add some spots of color to the fall garden. I do like the daisy shaped flower types. I'll cross my fingers for you that these are hardy & come back next season.

Balisha said...

Good Morning to you in Greece. I was in Athens in August of 1972. Beautiful country. Thanks for reading.

Hi Judy and PGL,
I put those asters back on the edge of the woods and replaced them with these. Hope they come back. I'll let you know.
Hope you have a nice holiday.Hubby's sick...we're home.