One sure sign that fall is near is garden centers beginning to fill with beautiful chrysanthemums — better known as mums.

If you haven’t spotted them yet, you likely will soon. Mums aren’t all hype; they’re popular for good reason. They’re readily available and demand little in the way of maintenance. They work just as well in containers as they do in the ground, and they make it easy to spice up the season with profuse, vibrantly hued blooms.

So why are mums such a quintessential fall plant? They’re what we call a short-day plant. That means they’re triggered to bloom when the days get shorter and the nights get longer. Some of our other favorite seasonal plants — like poinsettias and Thanksgiving and Christmas cactuses — are fellow short-day plants.

Mums make it a cinch to incorporate that classic autumn color palette of golden yellow, orange and rusty red into gardens and porch and patio displays. But don’t worry — if white, lavender and purple are more your cup of tea, there’s a mum out there to suit your tastes too.

With a bushy, mound-shaped form, mums not only come in an array of colors, but also in many different flower styles. And they have a light, fresh, clean fragrance to boot.

The most common type of mum sold this time of year are the garden mums. You can plant these in masses to create sweeps of color in the landscape or use them as specimen plants in containers.

When choosing mums, resist the urge to buy plants that are already bursting with blooms. Look for ones that are barely breaking with color, meaning the flowers are still mostly closed. This will allow you to enjoy more bloom time, which can last up to four weeks.

Different varieties of garden mums have different blooming periods. And because they’re so popular, nurseries will keep producing mums for several weeks. So if you really like mums, you can refresh your display with new plants all season long.

If you want to pop your mums out of their containers and plant them in the ground, choose a well-drained location with full sun. Mums can be a bit fragile, so be gentle with them when removing them from pots and planting them. Mulch around them and treat them just like you would any other seasonal bedding plant.

Mums don’t need deadheading, so you won’t have to spend a lot of time in the garden clipping off spent blooms. But do be sure to stay on top of watering. Droopy, dry plants will shorten the lifespan of flowers. Try to avoid watering overhead, watering at the base of plants instead.

Once your mums stop blooming, feel free to simply toss them in your compost pile. Or you can cut them back and leave them planted in a sunny location. Many mum varieties can perennialize and bloom for a few years in Louisiana. Just don’t expect that tight, mounded shape, which is difficult to achieve outside of a greenhouse.

Want a long-lived, hardy, heirloom garden mum that consistently performs well in Louisiana? LSU AgCenter horticulturist Jason Stagg recommends Country Girl, one of his favorite mums. Also called the Clara Curtis mum, this cultivar has baby pink flowers and will spread into a low-growing clump over the years.

LSU AgCenter horticulturist Jason Stagg talks about choosing and caring for chrysanthemums, which are better known as mums.

Mums are easy to find this time of year. You can select from many colors and flower styles. Photo by Randy LaBauve/LSU AgCenter

With blooms in colors like golden yellow and rusty red, mums are a favorite fall plant. Photo by Randy LaBauve/LSU AgCenter

Mums aren’t limited to the classic fall color palette. These mums bring a splash of purple to the landscape. Photo by Randy LaBauve/LSU AgCenter

Mums grow in a bushy, mounded shape, especially when produced in greenhouses. Perennialized mums planted in the landscape tend to have a looser growth habit. Photo by Randy LaBauve/LSU AgCenter

When buying mums, pick plants that are just beginning to break with color so you can enjoy the most bloom time. Photo by Randy LaBauve/LSU AgCenter