INDIANAPOLIS — Just because we are on the other side of Labor Day does not mean we have to be done with enjoying our patios and gardens for the rest of the year.
Hoosiers can enjoy at least another two months of outdoor growing as mums and other plants that thrive in cooler weather are still very much in season.
On 13Sunrise Sunday, Pat from Sullivan Hardware and Garden answered the question about whether mums are annual plants or perennial plants. The practical answer is to treat them like annuals and replace them every year. But mums are actually perennial flowering plants that will come back each year with proper care. The key is mulching them at the end of the growing season and "pinching" or shaping them throughout the summer so they maintain their rounded shape and don't become overgrown and "floppy."
Pat said flowering baskets and planters can still be updated by pulling out wilting and dying annuals and replacing them with small mums and other hardy fall varieties such as ornamental cabbage and tall spikes.
Watch Pat's full segment from 13Sunrise in the video player.