Hardy Mum (Chrysanthemum x morifolium)

 

staple of fall planting beds, hardy mums (chrysanthemums) come in a variety of colors, including a number of vivid reds, such as 'Autumn Red'. Hardy mums are often purchased as fully flowering nursery specimens and planted as annuals for a burst of fall color. But if you want to grow them as perennials, plant them in the spring to allow them to fully establish root systems by fall. Most varieties are hardy to zone 5, but a few have been developed that survive all the way to zone 3. The plants can grow to 3 feet tall, with a spread of 2 feet or more.

If you grow them as perennials, make sure to keep mums pinched back during the spring and summer to force them into a fuller, bushier growth for fall. Left to their own, these plants can get leggy and flimsy.