The Garden State Growers Hardy Mum Plant is a perfect way to add color to your outdoor space. Don't fertilize plants set out in fall as annuals, but plants you hope to overwinter should get high-phosphorus fertilizer to stimulate root growth. Plants set out in spring should get a 5-10-10 fertilizer once or twice a month until cooler weather sets in. If the garden mum doesn't get enough sunlight, it will be tall and leggy and produce fewer, smaller flowers. The mum plant performs best in partial sun.

• Choose a spot that gets at least 6 hours of sun a day
• Avoid soaking the foliage, which encourages disease
• Mums thrive in well-drained soil
• Heavy clay soil should be amended
• If your yard is soggy after the slightest rain, grow garden mum in raised beds with friable soil for good root growth
• If the soil is too dense, add compost and prepare to a depth of 8-12 in. for best performance
• Mums' roots are shallow, and they don't like competition
• Plant mums about 1 in. deeper than they were in the nursery pot, being careful with the roots as you spread them
• Trim off the previous year's stems as soon as the new spring growth begins to show
• Water the newly planted mum plant thoroughly, and never let it wilt
• After they are established, give mums about 1 in. of water per week
• When bottom leaves look limp or start to turn brown, water more often