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While some of us might be seeing snow this time of year, it’s actually time to think about mums.

We talked with Mum Business Manager Steve Reed on what you should know about ordering Garden Mums. His answer: The best time to order is soon after the crop is sold.

Here you’ll find Reed’s helpful advice on when to order and why, as well as tips and tricks for growing:

When should customers order?

Growers should make crop planning decisions while the recent crop is still fresh in their minds. Also, early ordering is the best chance to get the varieties the grower wants, when they want them. Check out our latest videos on the new mum varieties!

How long are trials and what’s the process?

Ball Seed Co. has a very thorough and rigorous trialing process. We work with three Garden Mums breeders to bring the best flowers to the marketplace. New varieties go through a multi-year trialing process (sometimes 4+ years) before selection as a new Ball Mum.

We conduct trials in different regions of the country – Alabama, New Jersey, North Carolina, Illinois, Missouri, Ontario, Canada, and Washington – to evaluate regional performance of all Ball Mums. We look at many things like flower color, flower size, plant height, plant width, plant shape, flower display, flowering dates, just to name a few. Our standards are very high, for instance, this year we evaluated over 50 varieties that had advanced in our trials and chose four to introduce in 2025!

What are your recommended growing tips?

• No Stress – especially early in the crop. Never let cuttings wilt prior to transplant. And be ready to transplant as soon as the cuttings arrive. The first 35-40 days are most critical to finishing quality Garden Mums.
• Fertility – Mums are pretty heavy feeders, especially early in the crop. Check you pH and EC and calibrate your injectors prior to starting your crop.
• Variety selection – the Ball Mums Catalog has a great chart: the Natural Season Grid. It helps growers select varieties for fresh Mums all Fall.

Do you have any favorites?

I'm a big fan of our new Cosmic family – Lunar Pink, Solar Yellow, Meteor Bronze, Galaxy Purple and Fireball Red. The natural season flowering in early October. Cosmic are very uniform and are great for mixed Trio plantings. Orange Helios and Spicy Pumpkin Orange are two new Orange varieties for early October flowering, as well. Both have great October Orange flowers with mounding habits and prolific flower power.

Top performers/ sellers of note: 

• Bridal White – Features one the purest, brightest White Garden Mums.
• Yellow Tang – A best-in-class Yellow variety, bright Yellow with flower power and good shelf life.
• Copper Coin Bronze – Top performer, with two-tone Orange/Bronze flowers.
• Mumosa Orange – Unique bright Orange/Coral flowers with strong, flexible stems.
• Misty Lilac Pink – Just a beautiful color on a great performing plant.
• Radiant Red – Dark Red flowers hold the color well. A more vigorous selection, so use in 8” and larger pots.

See the 2024 Ball Mums Catalog and our website for production and planning information at ballseed.com/gardenmums/.