How are your summer annuals holding up? Are they ready to be refreshed? At this point in the year, it may be more economical and easier to switch to fall blooming flowers. The workhorse of these flowers is, of course, the chrysanthemum, or mum.

Certainly mums are the most popular and available fall flowers but they aren’t the only fall flowers. There are a number of other popular annuals and perennials that bloom in fall. They include pansies, certain sedum varieties, and asters, to name just a few.

Pansies can be annuals or perennials, depending on the hardiness zone. As might be expected, they are annuals here in our Zone 5 climate. However, they may grow back each year like several other plants that die off each fall and grow back each spring.

The other plants listed above – sedum and asters – are perennials. You can plant them and give them the same care you’d give any other perennial. Then you don’t have to worry about the best time to plant each one for fall color.

Mums are usually sold in pots. If you plant them in the ground, they can be planted as single clumps directly from the pots or split apart and planted in separate, smaller groupings. Some property owners prefer to plant mums in containers. You can remove them from the nursery pot and replant them in your decorative container. This allows you to divide the mums so they fit your container. The alternative is to buy them in nursery pots that can just slip into your decorative containers.

There’s still another alternative. Turn the design and installation of a your fall flowering plant bed(s) over to our landscape professionals. Then all you have to do is enjoy your new planting beds right up until the snow flies. No trips to the garden center. No research. All you have to do is approve the design. If you have a favorite, we can incorporate that, too. Remember, landscapes are to enjoy, not to take all of our time maintaining.