How to Grow Button Mums

Prepare the growing area in the spring by working the soil down at least 4 inches with a garden spade. Add 2 inches of aged compost over the soil surface to improve nutrients and drainage, and work in the compost well. Rake the soil smooth.

Plant the button mum seeds after the final spring frost. Space the seeds 4 inches apart and 1/4 inch deep. Water the soil after planting, and keep the soil moist until the seeds germinate -- up to three weeks with temperatures over 70 degrees Fahrenheit.

Thin the mums at 12 to 16 inches apart after the plants reach heights of about 4 inches. Remove the weakest plants by pulling them from the soil.

Fertilize mums once each week by mixing the fertilizer with water according to the package recommendations. Pour the fertilizer mixture over the soil carefully without splashing the plant foliage.

Pinch back the button mums when they reach heights of 5 inches to encourage bushier blossoming. Remove the tops and side shoots of the plants by pinching the stems back to the first leaf nodes (the intersection where leaves grow out from a stem). Continue pinching every two weeks until the second week in July, then allow the mums to produce blossoms.

Keep the soil around the mums evenly moist throughout the entire growing season.