7 Common Mistakes You Make With Your Falling Moms

Here's how to make your chrysanthemum last as long as possible and avoid getting beautiful flowers.

Beautiful moms in shades of red, yellow, orange, purple, and white appear everywhere in the fall. I like to use them for autumn shots on my porch with dried corn stalks, pumpkin, and squash. After the flowers finally bloom, sometimes in late November in my hot southern climate, I often try to plant them in my garden because most moms are perennials that can actually survive the winter. But next spring, my plants will usually be reduced to clusters of dead stems. After checking out a few pros of growing mom, I realized my moms were planting too late. In fact, garden moms are very easy to grow, once you know how to avoid the following common mistakes.

1. Ignoring the type of mother

Amy Enfield, a horticulturist at Miracle-Crow, says moms should plant in the garden in late summer or early fall so they have time to form roots before the soil freezes. Also known as hardy or Belgian moms, garden moms are sold at garden centers and nurseries, and they are perennial in USDA Zones 5 to 9. But even if they are planted at the right time, they need some other things, better drainage. Enfield adds, "There is no guarantee that they will survive the winter, especially in the north where you live in the United States."

Florist moms sold in the home plant section of your local grocery store, not for planting, she explains. "Unlike garden moms, these should grow indoors as indoor plants and not be cold."

2. Planting in high shade

Cynthia Drumcool, a potted plants and mummies manager with Dairy Gardening, says garden moms need full or at least partial sun. One exception: During the hottest seasons, moms benefit from a little shade during the hottest part of the day. Otherwise, give them plenty of sun for plenty of flowers.

3. Apply more fertilizer to your plants

In the spring, you can fertilize with nitrogen as your plants begin to grow leaves and twigs. But don’t fertilize once your moms have formed flower buds, says Enfield. In the fall, moms will benefit from high phosphorus fertilizer that promotes root growth.

4. Forget water moms

One of the biggest mistakes you can make with fallen mothers is failing to give them water, Enfield says. "The days are cold, the sun is not so intense, so the plants, even those in containers, do not dry out quickly. However, the plants will need water until the ground freezes." When you need water daily in the summer, pour water only after the weather has cooled and the top of the soil feels dry to the touch. Do the same for painted interior moms.

5. Cut the plants quickly

Kill your garden moms in the fall, but leave the rest of the plants alone as much as possible, Enfield advises. Mothers use their leaves to convert sunlight into energy for rooting. Wait until next spring to make any additional pruning, or until the stems die back into the ground. Then, cut the stems about an inch or more down before new growth appears.

6. Pinching moms too late (or not at all)

If you do not pinch the growing tips of your garden mothers, they will bloom, but you will have plants with long stems and fewer flowers. “Pinching to remove flower buds helps stimulate the plant’s branches and make them grow fully,” says Enfield. "Stop pinching in early July (not mid-July) and allow buds to form and bloom."

7. Drainage facility not improved

Moms do not thrive in soil, it dries poorly and is very moist. That is especially true in cold-winter areas, says Enfield. If you have heavy clay or dense soil, mix some good quality garden soil or compost to loosen it and improve drainage at your planting site.