Mums

Nature 3 Minutes

Hardy mums are fast-growing and will reach their full height within their first year, with the plant filling out a little more each subsequent year. Hardy mums set buds once the nights become longer and flower in the fall for up to eight weeks. The leaves and flowers of hardy mums are mildly toxic to humans as well as to dogs, cats, and horses.

Hardy Mum Care

Here are the main care requirements to keep mums growing healthy.

Plant mums in a site that’s protected from damaging strong winds.

Provide good air circulation around the plants to reduce fungal infections.

Pinch plants on or around Memorial Day and Fourth of July for best performance.

Water weekly and feed regularly.

Light

Hardy mums prefer to grow in full sun, meaning at least six to eight hours of direct sunlight daily. However, in the warmer parts of their growing zones, they can benefit from some afternoon shade. The flowers are photoperiodic, meaning they bloom in response to the shorter days and longer nights experienced (in the northern hemisphere) in the late summer and fall. Therefore, don’t plant them near street lights or night lights; artificial lighting wreaks havoc with their flowering cycle.

Soil

These plants grow best in organically rich soil with a slightly acidic to neutral soil pH. Sharp drainage is a must, as soil that remains wet for too long can cause root rot.

Water

Mums like consistent moisture but they do not tolerate soggy soil. Water whenever the soil dries out about 1 or 2 inches down. In warmer weather and once the plant is large and in bloom, more frequent waterings will likely be necessary. About 1 inch of water per week is considered a minimum.

Temperature and Humidity

Most garden mums can handle temperatures up to 100 degrees Fahrenheit with sufficient water and some shade. Most hardy mums continue blooming as temperatures dip down as low as 20 degrees Fahrenheit and the roots of most varieties can survive winter soil temperatures down to less than zero degrees Fahrenheit. However, it’s best to choose varieties bred to thrive in your region’s particular conditions.

A moderate humidity level is ideal for these plants. Excessive humidity can encourage fungal diseases, such as leaf spot.

Fertilizer

Mums are fairly heavy feeders. You can use a slow-release fertilizer in the spring, following label instructions. Or use a water-soluble fertilizer monthly through July. Any fertilization after July can trigger tender new growth that cold fall temperatures can damage. 

Types of Hardy Mums

Mums are recognized for their particular characteristics and there are many named varieties. The most popular categories include:

Anemone

This group features long, flat petals on blooms that reach a maximum size of around 4 inches. Varieties include the following:

‘Dorothy Mechen’: Light purple blooms

‘Adrienne Mechen’: Flowers with a pink center that fades to bright white tips

‘Samba’: Rose-pink flowers

‘Rhumba’: Coral red flowers

‘Harmony’: Bright yellow blooms

‘Overture’: Bright red flowers

‘Ruby Mound’: Semi-double bright ruby-red flowers

Pompom

Pompom (also spelled pompon) mums are fluffy flowers that are also known as button mums. All varieties produce compact blooms in various colors. Some common varieties include:

‘Patriot’: All white flowers

‘Garnet’: Crimson blooms that mature with bronze overtones

‘Barbara’: Small, purple flowers

Spoon

Named for its spoon-shaped petals, this type of mum grows petite flowers up to 4 inches in diameter. Popular varieties include:

‘Kimie’: Yellow-gold petals

‘Matchsticks’: Yellow centers that end dramatically in bright red “spoons,” and

‘Yellow Quill’: Bright yellow centers that fade into creamy white tips

Newer Varieties for Northern Climates

Historically, garden mums are regarded as hardy only to USDA zone 5, but there are recent introductions by Canadian and University of Minnesota horticulturalists who have created many varieties hardy to zone 4, and some even to zone 3. If you live in a northern climate, consider one of these:

My Favorite series: developed by the University of Minnesota, this mum is hardy into zone 3b. Plants are up to 4 feet tall, with coral, pink, or yellow flowers.

Morden series: Developed in Canada, these jewel-toned mums should be reliably hardy into zone 3. Named cultivars include ‘Morden Canary’, ‘Morden Delight’, ‘Morden Fiesta’, and ‘Morden Garnet’.

Other cultivars zone 3 and 4 gardeners can consider include those developed by the University of Minnesota:

‘Peach Centerpiece’: Peach-hued flowers

‘Rose Blush’: Delicate, double, rose-colored blooms

‘Sesquicentennial Sun’: Double-gold blooms

‘Betty Lou Maximum’: Large red flowers

SOURCE: THE SPRUCE

Unknown's avatar

Published by pat frederick

Published

70 thoughts on “Mums”

    1. That sucks! Hope it passes quickly. Wheezer was sleeping on the fleece this morning; when I went out with his food, he jumped down and got his morning lovin’ before tucking into breakfast. He then returned to the fleece to sleep a while longer. We got a little more snow last night but not much.

      Liked by 2 people

  3. Good Morning, Pat and Filly!

    Down here, we have October Daisies, a perennial daisy mum, that always bloom in October around the time of Sally Q’s birthday. They always grow tall and fall over to the ground – so when she was a little girl, she called them ‘knocked over daisies’ – because she thought that was their name.
    I take her a bouquet every year for her birthday.

    Liked by 2 people

    1. You’re such an awesome mom, GA! Good morning! I’ve never been fond of mums or daisies – they are such a common flower I see everywhere. I prefer the unusual, something different – of course! What else would I go for??!!?? Always breaking molds….

      Liked by 2 people

  4. Wonderful story – Wonderful life!

    h/t – Wolfie at QTH

    Liked by 3 people

    1. Wow! Fascinating story! Thanks, GA! He was always one of my favorite actors. Did a little research about his kids….

      WHAT HAPPENED TO JIMMY STEWART’S CHILDREN?
      BY WILLIAM KENNEDY/DEC. 27, 2021 11:29 AM EST

      ENTIRE ARTICLE: “Think your parents put a lot of pressure on you during the holidays? Try being a child of Jimmy Stewart, star of what’s widely considered the greatest Christmas movie ever (and a personal favorite of the legendary star), “It’s a Wonderful Life,” released in 1946, per IMDb. Stewart made that movie three years before he was married and before having any children of his own. Following his marriage to Gloria Hatrick McLean in 1949, however, Stewart would go on to have four kids, two stepsons from McLean’s previous marriage, and twin daughters with McLean, per his official biography on the Jimmy Stewart Museum website.

      Once considered Hollywood’s most eligible bachelor, family life suited Stewart, who said “Gloria and the children continue to bring me enormous pleasure,” according to Closer Weekly. Jimmy Stewart died in 1997 from a blood clot in his lungs at the age of 89. Here’s what happened to his children.

      ONE DIED TRAGICALLY

      Jimmy Stewart and Gloria’s children included Michael and Ronald McLean (Stewart’s stepsons) and twins, Judy Stewart-Merrill and Kelly Stewart Harcourt (pictured above, with their father). Michael McLean keeps a low profile, while Kelly Stewart Harcourt became an anthropologist teaching at the University of California at Davis, per ABC10. Only one of the children followed their father in the entertainment industry; Judy Stewart-Merrill became an actress, starring in “Password,” “V.I.P.-Schaukel,” and “The Mike Douglas Show,” per Dicy Trends. Sadly, Ron McLean’s story would end in tragedy.

      Per the Jimmy Stewart Museum website, military service was important to the Stewarts, stretching all the way back to the Revolutionary War. Stewart himself served in World War II and retired from the Air Force Reserve in 1968 as a brigadier general, making him the highest-ranking entertainer in Hollywood history. Jimmy Stewart’s stepson Ron followed in the family’s footsteps and served as a Marine. Unfortunately, he was killed in 1969 while serving in Vietnam, when his unite was ambushed in the DMZ, per History Net.”

      NF: Very long, detailed article…..

      EXCERPT: ““He didn’t have to go on the patrol, but once committed, he had a premonition that he would get killed.”

      War stories, as the adage goes, are all true and all false. The survivors of one patrol had been telling a mostly false version of this story for 31 years—not deliberately, but because each man’s personal survival strategy had repressed large parts of the traumatic memory. One thing that helped unlock those memories was a celebrity’s published account of the loss of his stepson, who had been one of their teammates (see end of story for a letter written by Jimmy Stewart about the loss of his son).

      When America first landed on the moon in July 1969, the world knew about it. But the previous month in Vietnam, when a U.S. Marine Corps ­reconnaissance patrol code-named “American Beauty” fought for its life, nobody knew the whole story of the Marines’ ­bravery. And none of the survivors could tell it themselves.

      On June 8, 1969, those Marines were trapped in an ambush that claimed the life of actor Jimmy Stewart’s stepson, Marine 1st Lt. Ron McLean. The remaining five were pinned down for 24 hours by a dug-in NVA platoon. The resulting onslaught of automatic-weapons fire, grenades and 12 hours of close air support should have killed the team many times over….”
      ——————-
      March 19, 1985
      Dear Robert Lake,
      My wife Gloria and I wanted you to know that we are grateful to you for your kind and thoughtful letter. We are so grateful to you for telling us about our son, who died in Vietnam. To tell you the truth, you are the only Marine who served directly with our son that we have heard from….
      Best wishes,
      James Stewart

      https://www.historynet.com/jimmy-stewarts-stepson-ambushed-in-dmz/

      Liked by 3 people

          1. We are thankful – not hankful 🙂 – for your everlasting curiosity!

            Stay warm! What will you do about Wheezer in the dead of winter? Build him a heated greenhouse?

            Liked by 2 people

            1. Oh, my, no! LOL – he has his fleece to sleep on and various hidey-holes around the area, somewhere hidden. I think he uses me for a safe spot to sleep and food, with a little lovin’ thrown in now and then. He does try to follow me inside – just did a few minutes ago when I went out and filled his food dish. A little petting and rubbing, purring, then it’s food time. When the real snow hits, if he’s still around, I’ll do the same as I did with LM – put him in the garage with food, water and a litter box. But he wouldn’t be happy at all being locked in all the time.

              Liked by 2 people

  5. video in tweet

    Chief Nerd
    @TheChiefNerd
    Robert F Kennedy Jr on How Bill Gates ‘Monetizes Philanthropy’

    “He gets tax deductions for giving money to the WHO, he gains control of the WHO…The WHO finances the health ministries in virtually every country in Africa. He can say as a condition of getting that money, you have to show that you vaccinated a certain percentage of your population as the milestone. And the vaccines that they’re buying are owned by companies that Gates owns…The punchline on almost all of his philanthropic projects is that he ends up making money.”

    Liked by 2 people

  6. so actblue is now “helping” illegal rise money so they can bond out of their detention
    FTA
    Donations for the Black Immigrant Bail Fund are processed by ActBlue charities, according to the bail fund’s donation page. The fund’s website is soliciting donations to “help liberate” 111 Mauritanians “from a racist system that penalizes people in search of safety.” (RELATED: Biden Admin Partnering With Coalition Of Groups That Wrongly Accused Border Agents Of Whipping Migrants)

    “Their detention is based solely on their inability to post a $5,000 bond,” the website reads. “We are not stopping until EVERY Black Immigrant in ICE detention is FREE. We will not let any Black immigrant’s freedom to hinge on their wealth because we believe Black Lives Matter no matter where they were born,” the donation page reads.

    Illegal immigrants can be granted the option to bond out of detention custody by an immigration judge, who assesses possible threats they could pose to public safety and if they’re considered to be a flight risk, according to ICE. Bonds can be posted by U.S. citizens, lawful permanent residents, law firms and non-profit organizations.

    “Being detained is a lawful consequence to entering the United States illegally, regardless of one’s race or nationality. The fact that a prominent Democratic fundraising organization is facilitating bonds for illegal aliens in custody shows once again that they do not believe in any consequences for those who break our immigration laws, nor the existence of the agency that enforces them,” former ICE Field Office Director John Fabbricatore told the DCNF. “Abolishing ICE has quietly become Democratic Party orthodoxy,” Fabbricatore said.

    https://dailycaller.com/2023/11/23/dem-fundraising-platform-actblue-processing-donations-bail-fund-illegal-immigrants/

    Liked by 1 person

      1. well yeah…but my point is shouldn’t the CANDIDATE be first?

        “this wonderful woman and her husband”

        sounds to me like SHE is running and him not so much

        and the pictures–i know it’s her account, but they are all focused on her

        Liked by 1 person

  8. Wow! Certainly a PA dentist to avoid at all costs, IMO!!! This is from 2018 – I posted another current article about dentists pushing the Gardasil and COVID jabs that touches on this subject at M’s a few minutes ago but thought I’d bring this here – they have 3 offices in PA, this particular one being in Bartonsville, PA.

    https://medicalkidnap.com/2018/03/22/mom-stands-up-to-dental-bullying-when-dentist-threatens-to-call-cps-over-missed-dental-appointment/

    Liked by 2 people

  15. NOVEMBER 22, 2023 | JUDICIAL WATCH
    “DC Government Spends $270,000 To Repaint “Black Lives Matter” on Street Near White House”

    ENTIRE ARTICLE: “(Washington, DC) – Judicial Watch announced today it received 25 pages of records in a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request from the Washington, DC Department of Transportation which show the cost to taxpayers to repaint the Black Lives Matter slogan on a street in the nation’s capital was over $270,000. (The repainting seems to have taken place shortly before Black Lives Matter groups began defending Hamas terrorist murders of Jews in Israel.)

    On June 5, 2020, after days of protests and riots in DC led by the Black Lives Matter movement, a team of artists, residents, District employees, and demonstrators painted “Black Lives Matter” in 50-foot-tall yellow capital letters and the District’s crest, which resembles three stars above an “equals” sign, on 16th Street NW near the White House. The following day, demonstrators painted “Defund the Police,” a key demand of the Black Lives Matter movement, alongside the “Black Lives Matter” message.

    The total price tag of $271,231 includes $53,551 for paint and supplies, and $217,680 for labor. In a purchase order dated September 15, 2023 with the description “Black Lives Matter Plaza Redo”, a vendor charged DC-based Equus Striping a total of $53,551.20 for supplies for “BLMRedo2023”. These supplies included “StreetBond 250 Yellow-BLM (MMA)”, “StreetBond 250 Catalyst”, and “StreetBond Primer”, plus shipping. The labor for the repainting was provided by a subcontractor called Dewberry and totaled $217,680.

    A memorandum of negotiations for the project dated April 13, 2023 indicates that the project required a foreman, operator, laborer, carpenter, and mason. Equipment included a backhoe/loader, portable air compressor, Bobcat, dump truck, pick-up truck, and service truck. The memorandum also indicates that the hourly rates submitted by the contractor on March 9, 2023 were rejected. After negotiation, the contractor submitted lower hourly rates and were accepted on April 13, 2023. The negotiated pricing was signed off on by DC Department of Transportation officials Dr. Eloka Kingsley Achebe (Deputy Program Manager), Jaswant Matharu (Project Manager-Local Paving), and Gaiyath Naanou (Resident Engineer-Local Paving).

    Judicial Watch obtained the records in a November 6, 2023 FOIA request for:

    ‘All budget records, invoices, work orders, authorizations, agreements and contracts involved in repainting the Black Lives Matter logo on Black Lives Matter Plaza in November 2023.

    All emails sent to and from the following DC Department of Transportation officials: Interim Director Sharon Kershbaum, General Counsel Frank Seales Jr, Chief of Staff Matthew Marcou, Chief of External Affairs Olivia Dedner, Chief Project Delivery Officer Sandra Marks, Interim Chief Operating Officer Neelima Ghanta, Chief Information Officer Khaled Falah, Chief Performance Officer John Thomas and Chief Equity and Inclusion Officer Nana Bailey-Thomas identified using the following search queries:

    a. BLM+Hamas
    b. BLM+terrorism
    c. BLM+Palestinian
    d. BLM+Palestinians

    All emails sent between any of the officials identified in Bullet 2 and any representative and/or employee of Black Lives Grassroots organization and/or with an email account ending in the domain @blmgrassroots.org.’

    “DC crime is out of control but local leaders continue to wastes $270,000 in tax money promoting the extremist Black Lives Matter movement in the heart of Washington DC that is racist, anti-police, anti-American, and often violent,” said Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton.

    On July 1, 2020, Judicial Watch filed a civil rights lawsuit against Mayor Bowser and other officials for First Amendment violations over their refusal to allow Judicial Watch to paint the message “Because No One Is Above the Law!” on a DC street. In August 2020, Judicial Watch filed a FOIA lawsuit against Bowser, the District of Columbia Department of Transportation and the District of Columbia Department of Public Works for records about the painting of “Black Lives Matter” and “Defund the Police” on a DC street in front of the White House.

    In September 2020, Judicial Watch filed a FOIA lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Transportation for records of communication between the Federal Highway Administration and the District of Columbia’s Department of Transportation about the painting Black Lives Matter on 16th Street NW near the White House.”

    Liked by 1 person

  16. “Illegal immigrants in free housing in Chicago earn so much they are able to send cash home to Venezuela – meanwhile, there are over 68,000 homeless Chicagoans”
    PETER HALLIGAN
    NOV 23, 2023

    ENTIRE ARTICLE: “On this day of Thanksgiving, there are some disturbing hypocrisies in Chicago that will be being replicated across the US and probably in every country with high levels of illegal immigration. From here: https://dailypoliticalnewswire.com/illegal-immigrants-in-chicago-admit-what-theyre-doing-with-their-u-s-dollars/

    “In an interview conducted at a playground in Chicago, a group of undocumented immigrants from Venezuela shared that they primarily send the U.S. dollars they earn back to their families in their home country, rather than spending it in the United States.”

    Meanwhile: Estimate of People Experiencing Homelessness – Chicago Coalition for the Homeless (chicagohomeless.org)

    So, free housing in schools for illegals and jobs, but not for the homeless living on the streets with winter coming fast.

    “The topic of remittances is often overlooked in discussions about the border crisis. It’s argued that these transactions are detrimental to the U.S. economy, with funds being diverted from local spending to other countries. For instance, it was estimated that in 2019, the U.S. economy lost $150 billion due to remittances. This figure is believed to have risen following policy changes under President Joe Biden.”

    This would be a lose (for schools), lose for the local economy (money sent out of the country) and lose for homeless Chicagoans (at least half the homeless would work). Onwards!”

    Liked by 1 person

  18. Just got off the phone with Mom – my niece, Mandy, is taking her to Lincoln on her way home. She came up to spend Thanksgiving with Mom and give her a ride. Mom and her car are getting too old for that trip and I can’t trust my truck that far! Her friend, IdaJane (the one I got into it with over the jabs – she felt as veterans it is our duty!) now has breast cancer and is having chemo tomorrow. It will be comforting for her to have Mom with her for a few days.

    Of course, Mom starts in bitching about my Sis still driving the school bus but I nipped that in the bud right quick! Sis has earned the right to do what she wants to do – the kids all put up a chorus of complaints when she said she was quitting so she agreed to do some morning runs and trips to games. She enjoys it and it helps give her life meaning – why shouldn’t she do it if she wants to? She knows her own capability! Mom’s tone changed fast when she discovered it would get no traction with me. Then I turned it around to being HER fault that she raised such strong daughters! That put the feather in her cap, where, in her opinion, it rightfully belongs! SMH….my Mother….

    Of course, she went to Whisky River to watch the NE-IA game. Remember this pic of her that I posted some time ago?

    She wore it yesterday and a woman approached her who said her son had seen the pic of her in the shirt on FB and had one made for himself. She went and got him and took a pic of him and Mom together. A little while later, a Mexican woman approached who ALSO had the same t-shirt on. They took a pic of all three of them in their t-shirts. I told Mom: you’ve been made famous by the internet!!! ROFL

    Liked by 1 person

  19. “Sunday Strip: Death, Taxes, and Gun Control—To the Administrative State: AFUERA!”
    ROBERT W MALONE MD, MS
    NOV 26, 2023

    The video that is destined to become a classic! (video @ link but we’ve seen it before – the new Argentinian President ripping the tags off the wall of government agencies to eliminate)
    “Long live liberty!”

    Afuera! Everyone’s new favorite word!


    Liked by 1 person

    1. “This one is so on target, I have to put it in here (again).”




      Jill and I went grocery shopping this week for Thanksgiving. Due to extensive travel in October and November, combined Jill’s method of buying items on sale and “stocking up”; we haven’t done a big run in about a month. Talk about sticker shock – the prices have literally jumped up 25% on major items in just a few short weeks.

      Then there is the prices on restaurant food. Wow! As we eat out a lot, due to travel – it seems like every week, prices are going up and up. I guess this only silver lining is that people are most likely eating at home more. I view this as a very good thing.

      Of note – as Jill and I have been fixated on fixing our diet for over a year, we are eating less food. Just eating less has made a difference in our food bill. We are consuming less and that is reflected in overall household costs. Just something to think about. So, for me – This Babylon Bee piece on inflation below is still on target.

      Liked by 1 person

  20. “Media Blackout: 10 News Stories They Chose Not to Tell You This Week (11/26/23)”
    THE VIGILANT FOX
    NOV 26, 2023

    #10 – Natural immunity proves to be seven times more protective than vaccinated immunity.

    #9 – Business Insider theorizes what happens if Donald Trump dies.

    #8 – UK data unveils alarming increase in cancer deaths among young people.

    #7 – Native American group sues NFL team owner over Redskins name change.

    #6 – Tucker Carlson warns the upcoming year will be particularly chaotic, unlike anything the country has gone through.

    #5 – Police officer convicted of killing George Floyd gets stabbed in Federal prison following the Supreme Court’s decision not to hear his appeal.

    #4 – Pfizer ‘knowingly distributed’ adulterated drugs to children, according to unsealed legal action.

    #3 – Populist wave sweeps across the Netherlands. Voters choose to “get their country back.”

    #2 – Moderna gets caught spying on your vaccine discussions online.

    #1 – Javier Milei stuns the world in landslide victory as Argentina’s next president, a triumph propelled by his continual humiliation of liberal ideology.

    FAIL OF THE WEEK – The Daily Beast inadvertently boosts sales of company selling HCQ and ivermectin.
    BONUS – Vote With Your Wallet: The Top 5 Black Friday Deals (Parallel Economy Edition)”

    Links: https://vigilantfox.substack.com/p/media-blackout-10-news-stories-they-e8d

    Liked by 1 person

  23. the real reason behind cash for clunkers.
    FTA
    And here we arrive at the true purpose of “cash for clunkers.” The program succeeded wildly – not in terms of “stimulating” the moribund new car industry but in terms of making an entire generation indifferent to driving. A measure of this is the stat that something in the neighborhood of 20 percent of those who fall within the 16-24 age bracket do not have a driver’s license. This entirely rational, if you know you cannot afford to buy a car. (How many people who can’t afford a private airplane bother to train as private pilots?)

    It is also entirely artificial – and malicious.

    Obama – who is a Marxist – understood that to fundamentally transform America into a Marxist state, the privately owned car had to go. The problem – for the Marxists – was that most Americans had one and most who didn’t wanted one. And – so long as they could afford one – it would be extremely hard to persuade them to give them up. “Cash for clunkers” was ingenious in that it did not attack car ownership directly. It very subtly disconnected the rising generation from the aspiration to want a car – by making it unrealistic for many first-time buyers to own one.

    The $1,500 “clunkers” that used to abound having been thrown away – leaving very little in the way of anything that a teenager (or even a young twenty-something) can afford without taking out a loan. And that, in turn, requires full coverage insurance – which most teenagers and twenty-somethings can’t afford, either.

    And so, they don’t even bother. With the car – or the license.

    This, in turn, fundamentally transforms them. Which is how America is being fundamentally transformed.

    https://www.ericpetersautos.com/2023/11/26/what-cash-for-clunkers-was-really-all-about/

    Liked by 1 person

  32. THrow them OUT

    Over THREE HUNDRED migrants move into San Diego airport after border city was hit by influx of crossers, as Biden’s immigration crisis continues to spiral

    Liked by 2 people

  33. I laughed

    King Charles is a ‘pampered’ royal who has his SHOELACES ironed for him, insists on travelling with luxurious steamed bed linen – and likes to have one inch of toothpaste squeezed onto his toothbrush, book claims

    Liked by 2 people

Comments are closed.