Once again, the “hardy” mums I planted last fall didn’t make it through the winter. All I have now on each plant is a few straggly stems of foliage – nothing like the dense, bushy plant I had. I have mulched them with 4 inches of shredded bark for the winter, but that has not helped. How can I get these mums to come back?

September is the month to start planning and planting your fall garden. Annuals start their decline and its time to add fresh new color to your flower beds, pots, and even hanging baskets.

As temperatures cool down, colors turn up and intensify. That’s why the ever popular garden mums remain high on every gardener’s want list for fall plantings.

Over the years, mum breeders have provided us with wonderful new colors, sizes and shapes of the ever-popular garden mum. But, as these new characteristics were developed, something else had to go. It takes a lot of energy to produce all those wonderful new qualities that our new mums possess, and therefore, generally, they don’t have enough vigor left to overwinter.