To grow mums, you have to pick a variety you like. Most mum growers work through distributors. We buy our mums from Hummert International. They provide mums from Mast Young Plants. Since we chose to use Gediflora plants, we also looked at the Catalog – GediFlora to familiarize ourselves with their plants. In 2026 we are going to switch to Millstadt because the shipping from Mast last year was almost as much as the plants. Milstadt is closer and saves us around $100.
Several decisions have to be made before you order your mums.
- When to harvest
- Colors
- Types/Families
- Supplier
Our first year (2023) we just picked colors we liked and had them shipped with another company’s order. We elected to grow 400 mums and chose these. We did not stay with one particular family of colors and elected to go with plants that bloomed at the same general time and we liked the pictures in the catalogs. We also took recommendations from other growers in our area.
| Variety Code | Variety | Catalog # | Color | Quantity | Bloom | Price |
| MG203 | Chelsey Yellow | 88019300 | Yellow | 100 | Mid Sept | $0.464 |
| MG093 | Danielle Purple | 88028500 | Purple | 100 | Mid Sept | $0.464 |
| MG746 | Hailey Red-Bronze | 88071500 | Red-Bronze | 100 | Mid Sept | $0.464 |
| MG192 | Gigi Orange | 88058700 | Orange | 100 | Mid Sept | $0.464 |
The plants worked out well except the yellows. They did not do well. They were spindly and we had a 30% loss.
The following year (2024) we planted 600 mums and focused on just one family of flowers (Arluno) except for the red. We weren’t happy with the yellow that year either. We didn’t lose as many, but they weren’t as nice as the rest of the mums.
| Breeder | Hummert Cat. # | Category | Variety | Color | Quantity | Price |
| Gediflora | 85MM0620 | Belgian Mums | Arluno | Orange | 150 | $0.514 |
| Gediflora | 85MM0660 | Belgian Mums | Arluno | Purple | 150 | $0.514 |
| Gediflora | 85MM0720 | Belgian Mums | Arluno | Yellow | 150 | $0.514 |
| Gediflora | 85MM1800 | Belgian Mums | Savona | Red | 150 | $0.514 |
In 2025 we scaled up to 1,000 mums. We are stayed with the Arluno family with the exception of the yellow. We seem to struggle with that yellow mum. The crowns aren’t as big as the other plants and they seem more sickly. We went with Padre yellow. The bloom time is the same as Arluno and all from the same Breeder (Gediflora). We are increased the variety by one and went with two hundred mums of each color. We are staying away from white mums as that seems to be the go-to color in the big box stores.
| Breeder | Hummert Cat. # | Category | Variety | Color | Quantity | Price |
| Gediflora | 85MM0600 | Belgian Mums | Arluno | Dark Pink | 200 | $0.534 |
| Gediflora | 85MM0620 | Belgian Mums | Arluno | Orange | 200 | $0.534 |
| Gediflora | 85MM0660 | Belgian Mums | Arluno | Purple | 200 | $0.534 |
| Gediflora | 85MM0670 | Belgian Mums | Arluno | Red | 200 | $0.534 |
| Gediflora | 85MM1620 | Belgian Mums | Padre | Yellow | 200 | $0.628 |
Here are the pictures for the 2025 crop.
For 2026 we will change the grower from Mast to Millstadt due to the high shipping costs. The plant themselves are slightly more expensive but the shipping is significantly less. We are also going to not get the Dark Pink this year because you really couldn’t tell the difference between the Dark Pink and the Purple.
| Breeder | Hummert Cat. # | Category | Variety | Color | Bloom Week | Price |
| Gediflora | 88005400 | Belgian | Arluno | Pink | 38 | $0.626 |
| Gediflora | 88004700 | Belgian | Arluno | Orange | 38 | $0.626 |
| Gediflora | 88005430 | Belgian | Arluno | Purple | 38 | $0.626 |
| Gediflora | 88241300 | Belgian | Arluno | Red | 38 | $0.626 |
| Gediflora | 88229100 | Belgian | Padre | Yellow | 38 | $0.626 |
Schedule
Plants have to be ordered before March to ensure availability and price. The plants will be delivered in the first or second week in June for planting. Everything to begin raising mums needs to be ready and in place for plants by then.
Plants are purchased based on when the blooms come on. Do not expect the blooms to show much longer than eight weeks. The plants will go dormant if they freeze so pulling them indoors (as the final customer) is important to keep the blooms going if the mums are sold later in the year. This is also an important point to pass on to your customers.
Mum catalogs show what time the mums are expected to bloom in the year. We try to have the blooms arrive around week 38 of the year (the 38th week of the year, not 38 weeks from when you get them). This allows the scouts to deliver mums that are just showing color when they are delivered. We expect the mums will look like this (these are pictures after 85 days, week 37).
Most suppliers offer their mums that will flower outdoor from week 32 through week 43. Adjust your purchase date and harvest date according to where you live and the climate in your area and when you want to see blooms.
Before the plants arrive, the field needs to be prepared and piped, growing medium secured, growing pans in place, and food and chemicals in place. There’s a lot to do before the plants arrive.
Pans
The mum crowns will be about twice the size of the pan holding the mums. We use a 9” pan that will yield around an 18” crown. When spacing them in the field, we plan on 20” crowns so the plants don’t touch each other. If they touch, they produce ‘bald spots’ where the foliage doesn’t grow.
We use a plastic terra cotta colored pan. The sun gets pretty hot in Kansas, so we shied away from the black pans.
9” X 6.25” Round Terra Cotta Mum Pan (Pot)
The specifications on the pan are as follows:
- Top Diameter: 9”
- Height: 6 1/8”
- Gallons: 1.21 (straight cylinder calculation = 1.72)
- Cubic Feet: 0.161753 (straight cylinder calculation = 0.229931)
The volume of the containers is important because the pans need to be filled with growing media. Even though these specifications come from the manufacturer of the pans, we ran out of mix in 2024. In 2025 and 2026, we used the straight cylinder calculations to ensure we have enough growing medium.
Growing Medium
There are several websites that discuss the best growing medium for mums. Even ChatGPT has opinions on what works best. This whole section can be very confusing. [I know we were.]
In particular you want a well-drained, well-aerated soilless medium with high water holding and cation exchange capacity. The growing medium should hold enough available water and nutrients to facilitate optimal plant growth during the heat of the summer months.
We settled on the following approximate blend percentages that worked has well for us every year. We do not see any reason to change our blends.
Growing Medium Formula for Mums Garden
40% Peat Moss
30% Perlite
20% Composted Manure (We would love to use vermiculture)
10% Aged Tree Bark
Pros:
- Peat Moss: Retains moisture well, provides a good balance of air and water.
- Perlite: Improves aeration and drainage, prevents soil compaction.
- Composted Manure: Adds organic matter and nutrients, promotes healthy root growth.
- Aged Bark: Provides good drainage and air circulation, adds organic matter.
Cons:
- Peat Moss: Non-renewable resource, acidic pH might need adjustment.
- Perlite: Can be dusty and might need pre-wetting.
- Composted Manure: Quality can vary, might introduce pathogens if not properly prepared.
- Aged Bark: Can decompose over time, requiring replenishment.
Here are our calculations for quantities of material for the medium:
| Cubic feet/pan | 0.230 |
| Pans used | 1,000 |
| Required Volume (cubic feet/pan)*(pans used) | 230 |
| MATERIAL | CUBIC FEET/BAG | CONCENTRATION | BAGS | CUBIC FEET |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Peat Moss | 3 | 40% | 30.7 | 92 |
| Perlite | 4 | 30% | 17.2 | 69 |
| Composted Manure | 0.75 | 20% | 61.3 | 46 |
| Aged Bark | 3 | 10% | 7.7 | 23 |
| TOTALS | 100% | 230 |
Here are the brands we have used successfully.
We add Osmocote 18-6-12, a time release fertilizer to make sure the plants have food on rainy days and the end customers have food for their plants when they leave our fields. This is a 8-9 month slow release fertilizer.
The dosing is 7 pounds per cubic yard (low), 11 for medium, and 15 for high. We use 10#/cy (between low and medium dosage). Since our volume of medium is 230 cubic feet (8.5 cubic yards), we will need 85 pounds of Osmocote for an application rate of 10 pounds per cubic yard. This will be blended in with the soil medium prior to adding the mixture to the pans.
For the new process of mixing in the back of the pickup truck the percentages were followed in 2025. This resulted in partial bags which was difficult to manage. For 2026, we will use full bags which will move the percentages a bit but really shouldn’t make any difference. The internet is full of formulas and they vary wildly. We have had really good luck with our mixtures.
Here is the blend for 2026.
| MATERIAL | CUBIC FEET/BAG | BAGS/ BATCH | CONCENTRATION | TOTAL BAGS | CUBIC FEET |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Peat Moss | 3 | 3 | 35% | 28 | 84 |
| Perlite | 4 | 2 | 32% | 18 | 72 |
| Composted Manure | 0.75 | 7 | 21% | 64 | 48 |
| Aged Bark | 3 | 1 | 12% | 10 | 30 |
| TOTALS | 100% | 234 |
Blending
Our first year (2023) we went to our son’s business. They had a small-scale concrete side-hustle and blended our growing medium for us. They used small scale concrete mixers and dumped the finished product into our pickup. We then filled our pans out of the back of the pickup. We could only get so much in the truck and it was a long drive to the business. One truck load was not quite enough for 400 plants.
Three Cubic Yard Mixer and Hand Filling Operation
The following year (2024) we took our material to a friend’s house and blended the medium using his farm grain mill. We had some trouble getting things to blend if the batch was too large, but the finished product worked out well. We did get carryover from the grain that was left in the mill which had fermented when we were ready to use the growing medium.
Feed Grain Mill and Hand Filling Operation
In 2025 we thought we would try making smaller batches in our portable cement mixer. The plan was to put the mixer in the back of the pickup, mix a small batch, dump the batch into the bed and fill up pans. The problem with this idea was the mixer was too small and we couldn’t make it work.
Portable concrete mixer
What we did instead was put the soil mix ingredients in the back of the pickup bed, mixed them with a large plastic shovel and fill pots. This worked exceptionally well in 2025 and we will use this process for 2026.
