For most, a chrysanthemum is a porch plant that provides a little seasonal color before being discarded, much like poinsettas around Christmas and shamrocks near St. Patrick's Day.
But did you realize hearty mums - easily found at hardware and garden stores this time of year - are perennial plants?
"I have one that's been coming back for 15 years," said Kevin Flynn, head gardener at Westlake Ace Hardware in Fulton.
Unlike annual mums, hearty mums can weather Missouri winters in the ground and come back 50 percent larger than the previous year. All it takes is a little basic care and some time to establish a healthy root system.
Here's four steps to keeping your hearty mums happy and healthy, courtesy of Flynn and Nick Niedergerke at Westlake Ace Hardware.
1. Choose a spot with plenty of sun but some shelter from the wind, such as near a building foundation. "It won't survive out in the middle of a field," Niedergerke said. Mums prefer well-draining soil - if your lawn turns into a swamp with every rain, a planted mum won't last long.
2. Plant the mum's entire root ball at least two weeks before the first hard freeze. Any later and the roots will not have time to grow. To really pamper the mum, dig a hole twice the size of its root system and mix half of the original soil with a fertilized soil such as Miracle-Gro Garden Soil. Water thoroughly.
3. Feed the plant some fertilizer after a week. Water once a week, unless it rains, until the ground cools.
4. After the first hard freeze, mulch the ground around the plant and stop watering. Wait until spring to prune old stems.
Don't want the commitment of a hearty mum? Choose an annual (also called florist) mum or another cheerful annual like a colorful kale or ornamental pepper.
