Add a burst of fresh color to the fall landscape with mums.

This traditional fall flower is still a favorite of many. These fall beauties come in a wide range of colors and provide weeks of floral beauty. Mums are great in containers, the garden and cut-flower bouquets.

Fall just wouldn’t be the same without them.

When shopping for mums, you may see them labeled as garden, perennial, gift or florist mums. All these different names for plants that basically look alike can be confusing. The answer lies in their response to day length, hardiness and use.

Those grown as gift and holiday plants are often called florist mums. These usually require the longest periods of uninterrupted darkness or shorter days. When these mums are grown under natural daylight they usually don’t flower until late fall or early winter. These late bloomers are usually killed by low temperatures before or soon after the flowers appear in colder regions.

Nurseries selling mums in full bloom in the fall often refer to them as garden mums. These may be perennial or “florist” mums forced to flower for fall displays. The intent is to use them as annuals. Set a pot on the steps, pop a plant in a vacant spot in the garden or combine them with other fall favorites.

If you have success overwintering your garden mum, feel free to brag. If your plants don’t survive or you don’t try, don’t worry. You are using them as a fall annual as they were intended. This provides space for new plants in the spring and an opportunity to try a different color of mum next fall.

Those mums sold as perennials are hardy enough to survive the winter and flower in late summer or early fall, providing weeks of color in the garden. Increase overwintering success of fall-planted perennial mums with proper care.

Make sure the plants receive sufficient moisture throughout the remainder of the growing season and leave the plants intact in the garden for winter.

Whatever you call them, add a few mums to your fall display.

You are sure to enjoy that last blast of color before winter arrives.