FRESH PICK WHAT TO PLANT THIS WEEK CHRYSANTHEMUM (ASTERACEAE COMPOSITAE).

Byline: Barbara De Witt Staff Writer

SHASTA DAISIES, dusty millers, marguerites and pompons have distinctively different looks - but when it comes to their family heritage, 'mum's the word.

These are a few of the 160 species of chrysanthemum that are native to China, Japan and much of Europe but thrive in Southern California, where they bloom throughout our usually warm fall season.

Unlike lilies, orchids and roses, chrysanthemums are generally considered common, but they last for weeks, whether cut or potted. Crown daisies often grow wild along roadsides, while marguerites (also known as Paris daisies) are the classic daisy used by girls to pluck as they say, ``He loves me ... he loves me not.''

GETTING STARTED: When shopping for plants, look for those with the most buds so you'll have more time to enjoy the blooms. About two weeks before planting, dig up the soil and mix with organic matter and a complete fertilizer, making sure there is good drainage. If you're buying the potted variety, as most people do in this area, just remove the plastic pot, gently loosen soil and unwrap roots, then plant in a flower bed or border for an immediate effect. Water often until established.

CARE AND MAINTENANCE: First of all, be aware that rabbits love snacking on mums, almost as much as they like those little blue flowers called verbena, so be cautious with pesticides, says Barbara Brown, a buyer for Sperling Nursery in Calabasas. Next, water often, whenever plants look droopy, and feed them two or three times during the growing season. Sunset Books gardening experts suggest you pinch plant tips during the summer, nipping the top pair of leaves on every shoot that reaches 5 inches long to get sturdy plants with big flowers in the fall. In warm weather like ours, you often can get two blooms by cutting back in the summer and getting a second bloom in the fall. After the last bloom, cut them back and wait until the following fall for the next bloom. Since they'll look like bare sticks, you may need to fill in the area with seasonal bedding flowers such as marigolds, violas and pansies.

VARIETIES: There are so many varieties that even Sunset doesn't list them all, but the kind most of us are familiar with - those purchased in decorative pots at the supermarket or in Thanksgiving Day arrangements - are referred to as florists' chrysanthemums and they come in numerous colors (pink, red, yellow, gold and purple) in a dozen shapes, from ``spiders'' with long, curling tubular rays (or petals) to spectacular ``spoons'' that have tubular rays flattened at the tip in contrasting colors such as yellow and red.

LANDSCAPE TIPS: Before planting mums, read the tags at the nursery. Some mums only grow a foot tall, while others will rise to a towering 6 feet (requiring stakes to keep them upright) and will overpower the rest of the garden. Some mums can become quite bushy and woody, which is great for covering an unsightly wall but not attractive for a border. Shasta daisies and painted daisies are good choices for borders, while marguerites and summer chrysanthemums make sturdy shrubs. And dusty millers are a winter- hearty, somewhat drought-resistant variety known more for their silvery white leaves than for their white flowers, which makes them good accent shrubs among more colorful plants.

FOR MORE INFORMATION: Contact your local nursery or garden club or look up chrysanthemum in the ``Sunset Western Garden Book'' (Sunset; $32.95) for in-depth instructions on their care.

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The common mum thrives in Southern California climates.

Tina Burch/Staff Photographer