Which is Best for Your Garden

I at all times encourage gardeners to experiment with extra crops, not fewer. You might resolve mums or marigolds are finest, otherwise you’ll select each of them! Why not, proper? 

There are just a few the explanation why you’d need one over the opposite. Maybe you’re planting a fall backyard and have early frosts, otherwise you lack ice and snow throughout winter. Your backyard’s circumstances dictate which crops work finest. 

Moreover, what you suppose is gorgeous might differ from what the following gardener thinks! Marigolds and mums have a number of varieties to select from, and every kind has completely different flower colours, shapes, sizes, and fragrances.

So, the query stays—are mums or marigolds finest to your backyard?

Naughty Marietta

Naughty Marietta French Marigold Seeds

Crackerjack

Crackerjack African Marigold Seeds

Gem Mix Signet

Gem Mix Signet Marigold Seeds

Which Ought to You Plant?

Each backyard is completely different from the following, and what’s proper for yours differs from what’s finest to your neighbor or buddy. Whether or not to decide on marigolds or mums will depend on the local weather, the present season, your rising targets, and the availability of the 2 crops. 

Your Local weather

The climate dictates all the things! Rain, sunshine, chilly, and warmth create numerous circumstances that favor sure crops over others. Mums just like the chilly, whereas marigolds like the warmth. 

Growers in northern climates have brief rising seasons. They could have to develop marigolds from seeds to have prepared seedlings. Some marigold varieties are perennial, although most are long-lived annuals in frost-free areas. They’ll bloom for longer durations in gardens with lengthy summers than anyplace else. 

Marigold crops are additionally environment friendly reseeders. They produce dozens of viable seeds that you could be save over winter for planting in spring. 

In hotter climates, nonetheless, chrysanthemums battle to bloom. Their perennial nature permits them to develop effectively by way of cool autumns and is derived. They typically thrive in USDA hardiness zones 5 by way of 9, and so they work effectively as winter annuals in heat areas. 

The Present Season

It additionally will depend on the present season! Spring is a superb time to consider planting each marigolds and mums. Marigold flowers will start blooming shortly after planting in summer season, whereas mums flower within the fall. Mums want a number of time to ascertain themselves earlier than frosty climate arrives.

Most hardy mum crops can be found within the fall when it’s too late for planting. These container specimens are good for porch stoops and balconies, although they’re not nice for planting. Hardy perennial mums want not less than two months of rising earlier than the primary common frost date. 

Marigolds battle in autumn; they like summer season’s warmth and sunshine. With heat and light, marigold flowers will proceed showing so long as you deadhead them. They’ll fill the yard with vibrant blooms and fragrant foliage. 

In abstract, it’s finest to develop marigold crops in the summertime and chrysanthemums in autumn. You might develop each in northern states, as long as you begin marigold seeds forward of time for transplanting after the final frost date. 

Your Rising Objectives

When eager about marigolds vs. mums, perhaps you favor one over the opposite! Which to decide on is fully as much as you. Marigolds are nice for veggie plots, as they deter pests and entice pollinators. Their vibrant pink, orange, yellow, and white hues fill the backyard with coloration and perfume.

Marigold crops are additionally excellent for minimize flower bouquets and floral preparations. They rebloom whenever you deadhead them, and bushy varieties have a tendency to provide dozens of blossoms all through the rising season. You’ll be able to pinch them to make them bushy, or allow them to flourish into gangly specimens.

Chrysanthemums have a variety of habits, too. Florist’s mums develop gigantic mum blooms on tall stalks, and so they’re showstoppers in flower gardens. These have a tendency to not be as hardy as perennial sorts, although, and so they usually require overwintering indoors. 

Should you’re searching for fall flowers, chrysanthemums are the selection for you. They erupt into bloom when leaves change colours, offering fall coloration on the bottom whereas timber fill the sky with wealthy hues. Their divided inexperienced leaves provide a impartial background for different perennials in the course of the spring and summer season. 

In style Varieties

Plant breeders are constantly producing new marigold and mum varieties annually. Discover hybrids with multi-color blooms, dwarf habits, and beautiful hues. Mum flowers are inclined to have muted colours that look good within the fall, whereas marigold flowers are cheery and vibrant for the summer season yard.

My favourite marigold is ‘Naughty Marietta.’ It’s a French selection that has yellow and pink petals with orange facilities. The mid-sized flowers entice butterflies and repel soil nematodes, making the plant good for rising close to tomatoes and peppers.

French varieties are usually mid-sized, whereas African ones are massive, and signet sorts are small. The bloom sizes mirror the rising habits, as African blooms are large, whereas French and signet sorts are on the smaller aspect.

Mums equally have a wealth of sorts to select from. Go for hardy, perennial specimens that’ll survive your area’s winters. Select a mum primarily based on its flower form and coloration. There are double and single-petalled sorts, and distinctive ones like spider varieties! Attempt ‘Fleur de Lis.’ It has pink, frilly blooms that appear to be spiders. 

Key Takeaways

• Each mums and marigolds are wonderful all through the U.S. as annuals.
• Marigolds carry out higher in heat areas, whereas mums excel in chilly winters. 
• Select marigolds for the summer season and mums for the autumn.
• Save seeds of marigolds to proceed rising them, and take cuttings of perennial mums to propagate the crops. 
• Perennial mums overwinter in USDA hardiness zones 5 by way of 9.