Cutting Back Chrysanthemums

This evening I cut back all my chrysanthemums.  If mums are allowed to do so, they'll bloom in mid-summer instead of in the fall. By pinching or trimming back the plants, they are encouraged to grow back thicker than ever, and will put off blooming. When you cut back one stem, the plant will grow back with two. So you end up with a bushier plant, with more flowers.


Ordinarily I do this by mid-July, but things have been really busy, so I'm a bit behind.  Don't wait too long to trim back your mums, or the plants will not have time to regrow and form buds before fall.

You don't need to laboriously cut off each tiny bud, just trim back the soft, newer growth at the end of the stems.  When you've done this, give your mums a bit more water for a week or two, then resume your usual watering schedule.

This isn't the first time this year I'd pruned the mums; I like to do it in late April or May as well, once the plants get about 5 inches tall.  This kind of pruning encourages thicker growth, and the plants are less likely to flop over later from the weight of leaves and flowers, leaving a gap in the middle.

When you are pruning is the time to take cuttings to start new plants.  Sterilize your garden shears with a 50/50 bleach solution, and wipe dry with a paper towel before cutting off a stem to root.  Remove the leaves from the bottom half of each stem, and dip the end in rooting powder. Then put them into a pot of moistened perlite.  Push the stems in up to the bottom remaining leaf.  Put the pot in a sunny place, and keep the perlite moist.   Roots should begin forming in about a month, but give the cuttings a couple of months before you plant them out.

Remember that when the mums have finished blooming this fall, don't trim back dry foliage to the ground. Leave it in place over the winter for extra protection for the roots, and cut them back in late winter/early spring.