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Mum season is here. Across Morris County, farm markets and garden centers have their benches loaded with chrysanthemums, pumpkins, gourds, cornstalks and hay bales right now, and the best color goes fast once October weekends hit. Our team rounded up where to stock your front porch this fall, from a Parsippany greenhouse with one of the deepest mum selections in the state to working farms in Chester, Randolph and Long Valley.
Looking for pick your own instead? Our apple and pumpkin picking guide covers every orchard and patch in the county. This guide is for the porch shoppers.
Cerbo’s Parsippany Greenhouse (Parsippany)
If mums are the whole mission, start here. Cerbo’s says it probably carries more varieties and colors of chrysanthemums than any other store in New Jersey, and the staff will help you match one to your spot. The fall lineup also includes pumpkins and gourds, scarecrows, corn stalks, fall annuals and ornamental cabbage and kale.
Where: 440 Littleton Road (Route 202), Parsippany. 973-334-2623.
Great Swamp Greenhouses (Gillette)
This year-round Long Hill Township grower makes mums its fall specialty. Great Swamp Greenhouses lists mums, pumpkins, gourds, squashes, cornstalks and hay bales for the season, so you can build an entire porch display in one stop.
Where: 553 New Vernon Road, Gillette.
Sun High Orchards (Randolph)
Sun High pairs a garden center with a farm market, which makes it an easy one-trip errand. In fall the farm stocks corn stalks, hardy mums, gourds, hay bales and other fall decorations, plus pick your own pumpkins and apples. Grab a hot spiced cider or a cider slushie from the market kitchen on your way out.
Where: 19 Canfield Avenue, Randolph.
Stony Hill Farms (Chester)
The Stony Hill farm market shifts to pumpkins and fall décor this time of year, alongside Jersey fresh produce. Make a day of it with the corn maze, then load the trunk before you head home.
Where: 15 North Road, Chester.
Alstede Farms (Chester)
Just down the road, Alstede Farms runs a farm store next to its pick your own fields, corn maze and hayrides. It is a good pick if the kids need something to do while you shop for pumpkins.
Where: 1 Alstede Farms Lane, Chester. 908-879-7189.
Wightman’s Farms (Morristown)
A longtime family farm on Mount Kemble Avenue, Wightman’s is known for its busy farm market and fall hayrides. It is the closest classic farm stop for Morristown, Harding and Bernardsville shoppers.
Where: 1111 Mount Kemble Avenue, Morristown. 973-425-9819.
Ort Farms (Long Valley)
For pumpkins you pick yourself, Ort Farms in Washington Township has a pumpkin patch, hayrides and a corn maze. Pull your porch pumpkins straight off the vine and pick up the rest of your décor at a garden center on the way home.
Where: 25 Bartley Road, Long Valley. 908-876-3351.
Tips for Buying Mums That Last
- Buy them in bud. A mum with mostly tight buds and only a little color showing will bloom for weeks on your porch. One in full flower is already halfway done.
- Water often. Potted mums dry out fast, especially in sunny spots and on windy days. Check the soil daily and water at the base, not over the flowers.
- Give them sun. Mums want at least a few hours of direct light to keep blooming.
- Layer your display. Hay bales for height, cornstalks tied to posts, mums at eye level and pumpkins and gourds up front. Ornamental cabbage and kale hold up well after the first frost.
- Go early. Selection is deepest in late September and early October, and weekends get busy at the farms.
More Places to Shop
Many of the county’s year-round nurseries carry mums and fall décor too. See our guide to the top garden centers in Morris County for more spots, and check our Morris County farmers markets guide for weekend markets where local farms sell pumpkins and flowers. Hours and inventory change through the season, so call ahead before a long drive.
Featured photo: Cerbo’s Parsippany Greenhouse, via cerbogreenhouse.com.
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