Chrysanthemums (affectionally known as ‘mums’) don’t need pruning during the growing season to encourage the development of many lush blooms. This is good news as pruning is an aggressive process that cuts back the branches of the bush to keep it looking neat and allow for new growth, but it does put some stress on the plant while it recovers. However, you do need to gently pinch parts of the bush off to get the…

This simple question has quite a complicated answer. Some chrysanthemums (also known as mums) are bred as annuals and others are developed to be perennials. But, if you’re careful, you can overwinter annual mums and grow them again the following year, effectively changing them into perennials. We discuss each type, with examples. Annual garden mums Most people grow mums in pots and treat them as annuals; that is, they discard them at the end of…

Carefully overwintering perennials ensures that they come again in spring, stronger and better than ever so that you can enjoy them for many years to come. And perennial chrysanthemums are no different. We discuss how to overwinter mums both in place in the garden and also in a storage shed, greenhouse or conservatory. And it’s not just the perennial mums that benefit from overwintering. You can change some chrysanthemums sold as annuals into perennial ones…