How to Grow Mums From Seed

Fill the peat pots to the top with potting soil. Mist the potting soil lightly with water from the spray bottle.

Sprinkle the mum seeds lightly over the top of the soil. Mum seeds are very tiny -- try to sprinkle them evenly. Sprinkle a light dusting of potting soil over the seeds and mist the peat pots again lightly.

Place the peat pots into a shallow tray and set the tray in a location with a constant temperature of about 72 degrees Fahrenheit.

Mist the potting soil daily to keep it moist.

Watch for the mum seeds to germinate within about one to two weeks. Turn the grow light on after the seeds germinate. Provide about 10 hours of light for the seedlings each 24-hour period.

Continue to keep the potting soil moist while the seedlings grow taller.

Thin the seedlings when they have about four true leaves. Snip the weaker seedlings off soil level with scissors, leaving two or three seedlings growing in each peat pot spaced about 1 inch apart.

Transplant the thinned seedlings right after thinning. Fill the 4-inch containers about half full of potting soil and place the peat pots into the larger containers. Fill the containers to the top with potting soil. Grow the mums in the medium containers until you are ready to transfer them outside.

Transplant the mums into permanent 12-inch containers or into the soil about 10 to 12 weeks after germination. Pinch back the terminal buds about 1 inch to encourage lateral growth.