Brighten Your Garden With These 10 Stunning Mums To Plant This Spring
There’s nothing like the cheerful burst of color mums bring to your garden as spring unfolds. These vibrant flowers aren’t just easy on the eyes—they’re hardworking beauties that can brighten up any corner.
Planting mums is like adding a splash of happiness that keeps on blooming. If you want your garden to look lively and welcoming, these ten mums are the perfect pick.
Get ready to watch your outdoor space come alive with stunning shades and textures!
1. Clara Curtis
Looking for a low-maintenance beauty? This daisy-like variety sports delicate pink petals surrounding sunny yellow centers that pollinators absolutely adore. The plants form neat, compact mounds that won’t overtake your garden beds.
Clara Curtis blooms earlier than many other mums, giving you extended enjoyment from mid-summer through autumn. They thrive in well-drained soil and perform beautifully in containers or borders, making them incredibly versatile for any garden design.
2. Sheffield Pink
Gardeners treasure this heirloom variety for its exceptional hardiness and apricot-pink blooms that seem to glow in autumn light. The single flowers measure up to 3 inches across, creating a stunning visual impact when planted in drifts.
Unlike fussier varieties, Sheffield Pink rebounds reliably year after year, even in challenging climates. Its tall stems reach 30-36 inches, perfect for back-of-border placement where the late-season blooms can shine above shorter perennials.
3. Ryan’s Pink
Discovered in Minnesota, this super-hardy mum defies expectations with its ability to survive brutal winters. The vibrant magenta-pink double blooms create a spectacular display from late summer into fall, drawing compliments from everyone who visits your garden.
What makes Ryan’s Pink truly special is its compact, mounding growth habit that stays tidy without pinching. Plant these beauties along walkways where their sweet fragrance can be appreciated up close, or mass them for dramatic impact.
4. Emperor of China
Royal in both name and appearance, this heirloom variety dates back to the 1830s yet remains one of the most coveted mums among collectors. The silvery-pink blooms develop deeper rose tones as they mature, creating a captivating color shift throughout the blooming period.
Tall and stately, Emperor of China reaches 3-4 feet in height with strong stems that rarely need staking. Its late-season flowering provides welcome color when most garden stars have faded, and the attractive bronze-tinged foliage adds interest even before blooms appear.
5. Will’s Wonderful
Garden designers rave about this exceptional mum for its perfect form and extraordinary cold tolerance. The rich burgundy-red flowers with gold centers create a sophisticated color combination that works beautifully in both traditional and contemporary landscapes.
Unlike greenhouse mums that often disappoint after one season, Will’s Wonderful returns faithfully year after year. Its mid-height stature (around 24 inches) makes it versatile enough for containers, front-of-border plantings, or mixed perennial beds where fall interest is needed.
6. Matchsticks
Prepare for double-takes when visitors spot these whimsical blooms in your garden! Each petal features a golden-yellow base that transitions to fiery red tips, creating the appearance of tiny matchsticks clustered together in perfect spheres.
Beyond their novelty appeal, Matchsticks mums offer excellent garden performance with strong stems and a naturally rounded habit. They bloom relatively early in the mum season, providing weeks of eye-catching color before many other varieties have even started showing buds.
7. Mary Stoker
Soft buttery yellow blooms make this elegant mum a standout in any garden setting. The flowers open gradually over several weeks, ensuring a long display period when many other perennials have finished their show for the season.
Mary Stoker thrives in partial shade locations where many mums struggle, making it perfect for brightening woodland garden edges. Its strong root system helps it survive winter better than many varieties, while the attractive blue-green foliage provides garden interest even when not in bloom.
8. Cambodian Queen
Flamboyant and unforgettable, this exotic beauty flaunts deep coral-orange blooms with incurved petals that create perfect globes of color. The rich hue stands out dramatically against the dark green foliage, creating a focal point wherever it’s planted.
Despite its tropical-sounding name, Cambodian Queen handles cool temperatures with surprising resilience. Its medium height (about 24-30 inches) works well in mixed borders, and the strong stems make excellent cut flowers for arrangements that last remarkably long in vases.
9. Venus
Elegance defines this pristine white mum that illuminates garden corners and moonlight gardens with its luminous blooms. The perfectly formed flowers feature slightly incurved petals that protect the centers from early frost, extending the display season well into autumn.
Venus performs beautifully in containers where its bright white flowers create dramatic contrast against dark foliage plants. The clean color works harmoniously with any garden palette, making it an excellent companion plant for fall asters, ornamental grasses, and late-blooming sedums.
10. Bronze Elegance
Warm, coppery tones make this mum a perfect complement to autumn’s changing landscape. The multi-petaled blooms start with bronze-orange centers that gradually transition to russet tips, creating dimensional color that seems to glow in low-angle fall sunlight.
Bronze Elegance forms a naturally rounded shape without excessive pruning, reaching about 18-24 inches in height and spread. Its rich coloration pairs beautifully with purple asters, ornamental cabbage, and golden ornamental grasses for show-stopping fall garden combinations.