Fall Mums

by Em
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Because of all the wet weather we had this summer, some of my annual zinnias are tiring out much faster than usual or suffering from fungal diseases that don’t usually bother them.

A photo of zinnia leaves covered in a white fungus.

Most of the sick ones are in pots and planters. That makes sense because fungal diseases can spread faster when plants are thirsty or dry, and it’s easy to forget to water potted plants. Not that I know anything about that…

This is not really the view I want people to have when they stroll up our front walkway:

A photo of a dried-up zinnia flower.
A photo of a dried-up zinnia plant and flower.

So I will be pulling out these plants and replacing them with some fall mums I purchased last weekend. I was hoping to plant them right away but then the weather changed to oppressively hot, and I decided to keep them protected on our screen porch for a few days instead.

Look at all the buds and blossoms!

A photo of a pot of mums with scores of unopened flower buds.
A photo of purple mums in bloom.
A photo of bronze-colored mums starting to open.

Just like pansies in the spring, fall mums feel like a waste of money to me because they only last for a month or so. But I got these plants for a great price at a local garden enter. Plus it’s still late summer, so I hate to stare at empty planters until October.

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