Chrysanthemums are often considered the “flowers of fall”, popping up on porches and decks as soon as late August and early September.

These beautiful flowers are low maintenance, but you need to make sure you’re doing the right maintenance to keep them vibrant as long as possible throughout the season.

Here’s a few tips:

• When choosing which mums to buy, look for plants have just started to bloom, making sure most of the blooms are still closed.
• When you get the plant home, soak it in a bucket of water for 20 minutes
• Always water at the base of the plant instead of over the flowers. A great way to do this is put your planter in a plastic tray and fill it with water for the plant to soak up.
• Make sure they get 6 hours of sunlight per day
• When a bloom is faded/spent, cut it from the plant