Taking Root: Growing mums and asters that last

Don't wait until November to plant mums and asters. Buy them now or by mid-September, and plant them in your landscape. These fall bloomers need to have their roots growing and become established before cold weather.

A few years ago I received a letter from a reader of this column. As I began to open the envelope, I thought to myself, "this is neat. I am getting a letter from a reader who is going to tell me how much he/she appreciates my column."

The letter began with "All you ever write about is how to kill stuff. Don't you ever write about how to grow something?" Wow, what an eye-opener and a bubble-burster (I'm not sure there is such a word).

I often write about how to "kill" weeds, fungi, bacteria and other organisms because as they grow, beneficial plants are attacked and/or lose their attractiveness. I do this because I get sample after sample day in and day out of weeds a gardener wants to get rid of. Or the sample may be a diseased plant, and the gardener wants to know how to eliminate the problem.

But in this column I would like to make my letter writer happy. I am going to focus on growing -- growing fall blooming perennials, such as mums and asters, that can liven up your landscape and provide color and beauty until fall frosts.

Many gardeners purchase mums and asters in full bloom to place in a pot to add color by the front door, or to place on a patio table. Then at the end of the fall season they just throw them away.

In some cases more frugal gardeners will plant these perennials in early November, after the fall festivities, but are disappointed to find that these plants do not make it through the winter.

If you are interested in adding fall color to your landscape with mums and asters, purchase them now or by mid-September, and then plant them in your landscape. Don't wait until November to plant them. These fall bloomers need to get their roots growing and become established before cold weather ensues.

Select a sunny spot in your landscape to plant mums and asters. Dig a large hole where you are going to plant the bloomer. Make the hole wider but not deeper than the root ball of the plant.

Mix peat moss or compost to the soil that you dig out of the hole in the ratio of 1/3 organic matter to 2/3 soil. I usually do this in a wheel barrow near the landscape bed.

Remove the plant from the pot, and open up the root system by shooting a jet of water at the root ball. You can also open it up with your hands, or cutting through the root ball with a sharp knife.

Next, place the root ball in the hole and back fill with the amended soil. Make sure the top of the planted root ball is slightly elevated above surrounding soil. The result looks as if it were planted on a mound.

After planting, water thoroughly with a solution of high phosphorous fertilizer, such as Blooming and Rooting, a 9-58-8 fertilizer. This combination of nutrients will tell the plant to put all of it growing energy in producing roots at the expense of new leaves and shoots.

Repeat the fertilizer application when watering the next 2 or 3 times. After that, water by itself will be all that is needed.

When finished, just set back, drink a tall glass of tea and enjoy the beautiful fall colors that make your landscape shine.

Dawn Strong prepares to plant mums Tuesday outside Sunny Hill Gardens and Florist.