If you really wanted to be cute, clever, and/or maybe a bit bizarre, you can run around spouting "mums the word for fall." Of course, half the people will look at you with glazed looks suggesting the men with white jackets would be best for you.

Then, there are the truly enlightened, who, while shaking their head at your awful pun, will give you a slight nod that "yes, mums the word for fall."

Chrysanthemum, if you want to be correct. Mum is just easier to roll off the tongue and takes less time.

Chrysanthemums are one of the perfect fall flowers. Some of the cultivars bloom in early September; others bloom in late October.

The one thing the potted ones aren't is reliably hardy. The key word is "potted."

Last year, my good friend, Bill, who works for a major horticulture firm, sent me some chrysanthemums to test in my garden. I asked Bill to send me a few mums if he got around to it. Of course, Bill knew enough not to send the pink one, so a package arrived early June 2003 with a few mums in it. Maybe a "few" isn't quite the right phrase. The correct number was 500.

It seems that some of the big companies don't do things in what might be called home-owner size. 500 was their smallest package. Fortunately, there were 10 different varieties so that was really only 50 plants of one type. More importantly, there were others who descended on me like flies to road kill the minute the package arrived, and turned on the charm for free samples.

The mums were planted, watered, and fertilized, and grew into nice clumps by September when they started blooming. Some bloomed fast and furious, while others spread their color wealth over a couple months. The last mum came into bloom about two weeks before Thanksgiving and was still blooming when a hard freeze hit.

The good news is that just about every mum came back. The bad news is that just about every mum came back. When they came back, they came back with a vengeance and started growing, and growing, and growing.

Pinching kept them in check, but thinning was necessary. Let's face it. You really don't need 50 mum plants in a postage stamp-sized yard. They might not be bad on three acres.

But the main point is that mums will come back year after year if you start with cuttings in the spring and give them the TLC they need. A little winter protection doesn't hurt.

On the other hand, the mums you buy in the fall from the garden center, nursery, home improvement, and grocery stores will be just as colorful, and probably a little bit better shaped, but won't last through the winter. They spend all their time developing flowers instead of a strong root system even if you provide a nice loose soil, lots of water, and winter protection.

You can buy some of the big monster plants for less than $10 and sink them into the ground or a fancy pot. If they're already in flower, you can enjoy them for a couple of weeks. If they're in bud, you might be able to enjoy them for a longer period.

Treat the mums as annuals. That way if they do come back, you'll be pleasantly surprised. If they don't, there's nothing to cry over.

Buy the potted mums early and keep them moist. There's little soil in the pot to hold moisture and they can wilt quickly, especially when they're blooming.

Finally, I'll pass along my secret garden tip if you promise not to spread it around: Buy some of the potted plants and plant them in the shade. The white and yellow ones brighten up the areas the best.

Of course, they won't come back next year, but people will be impressed with your gardening abilities to grow anything in the shade. Just remember to remove the price tag.

David Rohson is an Extension Educator, Horticulture, at the Springfield Extension Center, University of Illinois Extension, P.O. Box 8199, Springfield, IL 62791. Telephone: (217) 782-6515. E-mail: drobson@uiuc.edu

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