Everyone knows chrysanthemums as the classic autumn annual, but people often wonder just how long they will last, and when all those buds are going to open. The answers to these questions depend heavily on temperature and the intensity and duration of sun exposure. However, we can narrow down a window where you can expect to have a nice display of beautiful fall color from your mums!

Chrysanthemums do best in a full day’s worth of direct sun but will tolerate down to a part shade setting, and they prefer cooler days.

When chrysanthemums have more buds than flowers, it takes cooler nights and sunny days to help their blooms fully open. How long that takes depends on how nice Mother Nature is to us.

When in color, under optimum conditions, you can expect your mums to bloom for about 4-6 weeks. We have early, mid, and late-season bloomers; if timed correctly, your early blooming mums will provide color from August to September, the mid-season bloomers from September to mid-October, and the late-season bloomers will finish the season off from mid-October to the first frost.

September, the month we all generally associate with fall approaching. Here at the Garden Center, we are also gearing up for fall. Our pumpkins have arrived, the mums have come up from growing, so let the fall decorating begin. Don’t you absolutely love the colors of fall? Nothing screams fall more than mums and pumpkins. When you come to visit us here at Van Wilgen’s to pick up your fall mums and pumpkins be sure to check out our MUM BUDDIES!

Mum buddies will add that punch of color and texture to your fall containers.

Here are a few of our favorites:

Let’s hope the cooler weather is here to stay, have fun decorating for the fall season.

The nights are getting cooler, the days are getting shorter, and for us, at Van Wilgen’s that means mums, fall foliage, corn stalks, and of course, pumpkins everywhere! Unfortunately for our summer container gardens, it also means it’s time for a change.

Here are a few tips to add a touch of fall to your container gardens:

Pick your mums strategically. There are dozens of varieties in each color so you can get the most out of your fall mums. Pick some that are in color now for a little immediate satisfaction, and mix in a few with more buds than flowers for an added pop later.

Your favorite ornamental grasses are great for fall containers! In colors that are rich and plummy, to white with a silver sheen, they add just the right amount of height and texture to any fall container combo!

Load up on our adorable ornamental cabbages and kales! These plants may look delicate with their intricately lobed leaves and perfectly white to pink to purple coloring, but watch them freeze and thaw and outlast the winter’s snow in your container gardens this year!

Let us help you put together a custom design for your fall containers!