How to Grow Pompom Chrysanthemums

Select a location in the garden bed with at least five hours of sunlight. If you are using a container, the plant will need a sunny location indoors or on the patio where the sun will shine on the plant for at least five hours. If you plant the mum in a garden bed, the plant should be far enough away from other vegetation so the roots don’t need to compete with other roots for nutrients and water.

Amend one part garden soil with one part compost or peat moss. If you are planting the mum in a container, the container must have drainage holes on the bottom. Add the soil mixture to the container. If you are planting the pompom mum in the garden bed, dig the soil down 12 inches and amend with equal parts of compost or peat moss. The soil must have a pH of about 6.5. Add limestone to the mixture if the pH is too low.

Mix 5-10-5 fertilizer into the amended soil. Continue to fertilize the mums once a month from spring to September and stop during the fall and winter.

Water the pompom chrysanthemums thoroughly to keep the soil moist for the first couple of weeks after planting the plant. In May and June, reduce watering to once a week. In July, water the plant twice weekly to keep the soil moist during the high heat periods.

Pinch all new growth when it has grown 4 inches, which is about one week after planting. Pinch 1/4 inch off the tip of the stems. This will promote branching. Keep pinching the plant until Aug. 1 and stop.

Cut plants back to 4 inches above ground after the flowers start to die back in fall, just before winter. Cover the pompom mum with 3 to 6 inches of mulch. If the plant is growing in a container, move the container to a dry, cool location away from a window for six to eight weeks, then bring the plant back into the room where it will live.