Once you learn how to grow chrysanthemums, you can have beautiful mums that last longer than store-bought ones.

Pruning after mid-July may keep your mums from blooming until so late in the fall that you hardly get time to enjoy them before frost kills the blooms.

"Pruning in early spring removes dead, diseased, or overcrowded branches, allowing sunlight to penetrate the canopy and fostering better fruit quality," says Howland.

There are some varieties that will return in the spring when planted in the fall if planted early to establish a root system before winter.

This is prime time to prune trees and shrubs that already have finished blooming for the year.