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How to Grow and Care for your Chrysanthemum Plants
Chrysanthemum plants are just about the easiest of all of the perennials to grow. Mums should be planted in early spring after all danger of freezing, however they can be planted almost any time, as long as they have time to establish their root system before the hottest weather.
Chrysanthemums
Growing Requirements of Chrysanthemum Plants
Chrysanthemums grow best and produce the most flowers if they are planted in full sunshine. They respond to plenty of food and moisture.
There are hundreds of varieties of Chrysanthemums, giving you a multitude of options for height, color, flower size and time of bloom. You can pick and choose to fit your wants and needs when you visit the nursery.
In northern climates it is wise to purchase the earlier bloomers.
Mums can be started as seeds, from cuttings and dividing, or can be purchased at a nursery in sizes from bedding plants up to gallon size and larger plants.
They should be planted into well prepared, fertile, sandy soil. Mums resent 'wet feet' so the hole should be dug extra deep.
I recommend that you not grow your mums in the same spot for more than three consecutive years to help prevent associated disease and pest problems. The plants should be spaced 18-30 inches apart for best results. Feed lightly every 2 weeks with a good balanced all purpose fertilizer. When the plants are 6 inches tall, pinch about 3/4 of an inch from each branch to promote more blooms and bushier plants. When they reach a foot tall, pinch them again.
On the largest flowering types it is best to remove all buds except for the one on top.
Dividing and Transplanting Chrysanthemums
Chrysanthemums should be
to avoid overcrowding and promote maximum flowering. They should be divided in the spring when new growth appears. Dig entire clumps and separate the plants with a sharp, clean knife or spade.
Remove all dead and diseased plant parts.
Replant the divisions as soon as possible in a loose, well drained, rich organic soil. Chrysanthemums should periodically be moved to a new location, but if this is not feasible, the soil should be sterilized chemically to reduce danger of disease and insect problems.
Young divisions will grow much faster and provide a better plant than crowded old clumps. When the new shoots are 1-3 inches tall in early spring, dig up your old clumps and carefully pull them apart. plant the healthy divisions into newly prepared fertile soil and discard the half dead woody parts.
Propagating Chrysanthemums and Growing Them from Seed
Remove the lower half of the leaves from a 4-6 inch healthy, fresh cutting using a sharp clean knife!
Dip about 3/4 inch of the cut end into a rooting hormone such as Roottone& or Hormonex&. Insert the cutting about one inch deep into sterile moist sand, vermiculite or sphagnum moss.
Create a mini-greenhouse over the container with poly film over a wire frame and place it in a bright spot (NOT full sun) until the roots form.
Chrysanthemum seeds should be sown into the prepared soil where they are to bloom at least 2 months prior to the first frost.
in very early spring for later transplanting into the garden.
For detailed instructions on growing Chrysanthemums from seeds go to
Caring for Mums in the Winter
After your plants have been , cut them back to the ground and provide a light airy mulch of evergreen branches or similar material. The most dangerous hazards for Chrysanthemums in the winter are constant wetness or ice on the leaves.
Frost heaving caused by alternate freezing and thawing of the soil can also a major problem. To help with these problems and keep the plants somewhat protected and dry, you can mound the soil up around each plant, as well as creating a simple drainage ditch alongside.
To help avoid the heaving try to keep the plants somewhat shaded and insulate their roots with a light airy mulch.
Over-wintering Chrysanthemums in Pots
I'm in a situation where we had invested in a large number of potted mums
this fall, and am now not quite sure as to the best method of preparing
them for winter. I have been told that one may store the plants after
they dry out for the entire winter and should be able to re-establish
them in the garden in the spring. Please advise as to the method of
storage that would allow for the best possible outcome next year.
You didn't mention what type of facilities you have for storage, so I'll go for the best case scenario.
Once the flowers fade, move the Mum plants to a cool but well-lighted location. Remove any foil or other covering from the pot at this time. Be sure to keep your plants watered, but don't over water them. When the potting soil dries to a depth of two to three inches, water them well so that water runs out the hole in the bottom of the pot.
By keeping the plant in a cool, brightly lighted location, you can keep the plants alive until the worst of the winter is past and you can plant it outdoors. If there is no new growth, it can be planted while the freezing temperatures are expected at night.
If new growth is present, wait until frost is past to plant outside. Gradually acclimatize
the plants as you bring them to life in the spring. Place them in a protected part of the garden, with
partial shade, during the day, and in your coolest room at night.
As the temperatures moderate, so there is less variance between day and night temperatures, you can leave them out.
When frost danger has passed, give em a shot of a 'bloom' fertilizer, for the earliest flowers.8 Toxic Personalities to Avoid | Brett Blumenthal
› 8 Toxic Personalities to Avoid
Although we like to think that the people in our lives are well-adjusted, happy, healthy minded individuals, we sometimes realize that it just isn’t so.
Personally, I’ve had moments where I’ll be skipping through my day, happy as can be, thinking life is grand and BAM, I’ll be blindsided by someone who manages to knock the happy wind out of my sails.
Sometimes it is easy to write it off and other times, not so much.
Maybe you are a positive person, but when you are around a certain individual, you feel negative.
Or, maybe you have an idealistic view of the world and when you are with certain people, you are made to feel silly, unrealistic or delusional.
Or, maybe you pride yourself in being completely independent and in control of your life, but when you are around a certain family member, you regress into a state of childhood.
Some of these situations, and yes, these people, can have a tremendously negative impact on our lives.
And, although we are all human and have our ‘issues,’ some ‘issues’ are quite frankly, toxic.
They are toxic to our happiness.
They are toxic to our mental outlook.
They are toxic to our self-esteem.
And they are toxic to our lives.
They can suck the life out of us and even .
Here are the worst of the toxic personalities out there and how to spot them:
Mary: These individuals are experts at
As a matter of fact, you may not even realize you have been manipulated until it is too late.
These individuals figure out what your ‘buttons’ are, and push them to get what they want.
Why they are toxic: These people have a way of eating away at your belief system and self-esteem.
They find ways to make you do things that you don’t necessarily want to do and before you know it, you lose your sense of identity, your personal priorities and your ability to see the reality of the situation.
The world all of a sudden becomes centered around their needs and their priorities.
2. Narcissistic Nancy: These people have an extreme sense of self-importance and believe that the world revolves around them.
They are often not as sly as the Manipulative Marys of the world, but instead, tend to be a bit overt about getting their needs met.
You often want to say to them “It isn’t always about you.”
Why they are toxic: They are solely focused on their needs, leaving your needs in the dust.
You are left disappointed and unfulfilled.
Further, they zap your energy by getting you to focus so much on them, that you have nothing left for yourself.
3. Debbie Downers: These people can’t appreciate the positive in life.
If you tell them that it is a beautiful day, they will tell you about the impending dreary forecast.
If you tell them you aced a mid-term, they’ll tell you about how difficult the final is going to be.
Why they are toxic: They take the joy out of everything.
Your rosy outlook on life continues to get squashed with negativity.
Before you know it, their negativity consumes you and you start looking at things with gray colored glasses yourself.
4. Judgmental Jims: When you see things as cute and quirky, they see things as strange and unattractive.
If you find people’s unique perspectives refreshing, they find them ‘wrong’.
If you like someone’s eclectic taste, they find it ‘disturbing’ or ‘bad’.
Why they are toxic: Judgmental people are much like Debbie Downers.
In a world where freedom rings, judgment is sooo over.
If the world was a homogeneous place, life would be pretty boring.
Spending a lot of time with these types can inadvertently convert you into a judgmental person as well.
5. Dream Killing Keiths: Every time you have an idea, these people tell you why you can’t do it.
As you achieve, they try to pull you down.
As you dream, they are the first to tell you it is impossible.
Why they are toxic: These people are stuck in what is instead of what could be.
Further, these individuals eat away at your self-esteem and your belief in yourself.
Progress and change can only occur from doing new things and innovating, dreaming the impossible and reaching for the stars.
6. Insincere Illissas: You never quite feel that these people are being sincere.
You tell a funny story, they give you a polite laugh.
You feel depressed and sad and they give you a ‘there, there’ type response.
You tell them you are excited about something and you get a very ho-hum response.
Why they are toxic: People who aren’t sincere or genuine build relationships on superficial criteria.
This breeds shallow, meaningless relationships.
When you are really in need of a friend, they won’t be there.
When you really need constructive criticism, they would rather tell you that you are great the way you are.
When you need support, they would rather see you fail or make a fool of yourself.
7. Dannys: These people will say or do things at the most inappropriate times and in the most inappropriate ways.
In essence, they are more subtle, grown up .
Maybe this person is a friend who you confided in and uses your secret against you.
Maybe it is a family member who puts their busy-body nose into your affairs when it is none of their business.
Or maybe, it is a colleague who says demeaning things to you.
Why they are toxic: These people have no sense of boundaries and don’t respect your feelings or, for that matter, your privacy.
These people will cause you to feel frustrated and disrespected.
8. Never Enough Nellies: You can never give enough to these people to make them happy.
They take you for granted and have unrealistic expectations of you.
They find ways to continually fault you and never take responsibility for anything themselves.
Why they are toxic: You will spend so much time trying to please them, that you will end up losing yourself in the process.
They will require all of your time and energy, leaving you worn out and your own needs sacrificed.
All of these personalities have several things in common.
1) the more these people get away with their behavior, the more they will continue.
2) Unfortunately, most of these people don’t see that what they do is wrong and as a result, talking to them about it will fall on deaf ears, leaving you wondering if you are the crazy one.
3) Most of these people get worse with age, making their impact on you stronger with time.
Frankly, life is too short to spend your time dealing with toxicity.
If you can, avoid spending mucho time with people who are indicative of these behaviors and you’ll feel a lot happier. Have you encountered these personalities?
What have you done?
Any personalities you would add?
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