| I have huge mums that are as large as shrubs with hundreds of buds, however, we will be having frost soon and most of the buds haven't opened yet. Could it be that I have fertilized too much? Should I have pinched off some of the buds? |
| Chrysanthemums are rather cold hardy so I wouldn't worry too much about frost bothering them. Many gardeners thin out the flower buds to one per stem, both to hasten opening of the flowers and to encourage each flower to be as big as possible. It's a little late for you to be thinning your blooms so each stem will set only one giant flower but you can pinch out the smallest, most immature buds to hurry development of the remaining buds. Leave the buds at the ends of the topmost stems, but pinch out smaller buds toward the center of the plant and on lower stems. This will allow the plants to concentrate on opening the remaining buds. Enjoy your mums! |
