• Skip to main content
  • Skip to secondary navigation
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Carol J. Michel

Award winner author of gardening humor books

  • About
    • Contact
  • Blog
  • Books
    • Shop
    • Gardening Humor
    • Children’s Books
    • New – The Halloween Hare
  • Social
    • YouTube
    • Instagram
  • The Gardenangelists Podcast
  • Gardening Humor
  • Children’s
  • All Books

May Dreams Gardens

Give mums a chance

October 12, 2012 By Carol Michel 8 Comments

Dendranthema ‘Cool Igloo’

Mums, they aren’t so bad, especially if they have a more natural shape and don’t look all poodle cut and perfectly rounded. 

And by mums, I mean Dendranthema, which is the actual genus for mums.  Or maybe they switched back to Chrysanthemum?  It’s difficult to keep up with taxonomists sometimes.

Regardless, in the right colors, and not perfectly mounded, mums add some nice color to the fall garden. 

Friends ask me about planting their mums in the garden  to winter over until spring.  Mums will winter over but there are a couple of tips to remember.

First, you should plant the mums as soon as possible, hopefully when they are still just budding out and not in full flower.  Around here that was about a month ago for most mums, if the ones I saw at the local big box hardware store a few days ago are any indication of the condition of the mums for sale now.    But even if my mums were in full flower, I’d still be tempted to plant them out now. What do you have to lose if they don’t make it, except a little bit of time?

Next, avoid temptation and don’t cut the mums down to the ground once they are done blooming. Leave that foliage standing through the winter.

Once the ground has frozen over, cover the base of the mum with some mulch to prevent it from heaving out of the ground when we go through those freeze-thaw cycles, especially in late winter. Many a gardener has lost her mums when they heaved out of the ground and dried out. If you find your mums out of the ground in late winter, push them back down using the heel of you boot.

Then in the spring when you see some green shoots starting to peak through at the base of the mum, go ahead and cut the dead branches down to the ground and pull the mulch back.   Fertilize the mum when you fertilize other perennials. I try to remember to fertilizer my perennials in early May.   If you want a lot more blooms in the fall, cut the branches back by about one-third around Memorial Day.  This encourages more branching, and thus, more buds.

Many gardeners shun the mums as ordinary and boring. I think they can be quite nice and cannot resist a little plea… all I am saying… is give mums a chance.

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: perennials

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Michael says

    October 12, 2012 at 3:57 am

    Hey Carol,
    thanks for all the info, the freeze thaw stuff i don't have to worry about thankfully but i'm now inspired to go out and get some when next i see them 🙂

    happy gardening

    Reply
  2. Fairegarden says

    October 12, 2012 at 11:17 am

    The Korean mums, such as the Sheffies, Sheffield Hill Pink are quite hardy and will return well year after year. They are a fabulous apricot color and go perfectly with fall foliage. They are worth seeking out.
    Frances

    Reply
  3. Gail says

    October 12, 2012 at 12:35 pm

    No mums here, but plenty of the native ex-asters. I have limited sunny areas and save them for native plants. I do like Fairegarden's sheffie suggestion. They are beautiful.

    Reply
  4. Kathy says

    October 12, 2012 at 1:14 pm

    Really, if you want mums to survive the winter, plant them in the spring, and let them take a whole gardening season to settle into the soil. I don't know if garden centers sell them then. I have mostly gotten passalong plants, but I know Bluestone Perennials sells them by mail.

    Reply
  5. Heidi/Woodland Garden says

    October 12, 2012 at 1:25 pm

    I love fall colors so I love mums, but mine don't seem to survive the winter. Maybe with your tips, I can help them survive. Thanks!

    Reply
  6. the blonde gardener says

    October 12, 2012 at 1:27 pm

    I have some great mums given to me by an elderly patient of mine. They had been in her garden for many years and mine for at least 15 yrs. They are quite tall and bloom a little later than most, but I always think of her when they bloom. Love passalongs! I did plant those in the spring and I am going to check out the Sheffies, too. So many great mums out there.

    Reply
  7. Susan says

    October 12, 2012 at 6:01 pm

    I want to plant mums, but I live in France and they're heavily associated with graveyards here. For All Saints Day (Tousaint) you're supposed to buy mums and put them on your deceased family members' headstones. My husband and his family will tease me eternally if I buy them for decoration.

    Reply
  8. Anonymous says

    October 14, 2012 at 1:35 am

    For the past few years my mums have bloomed very early, like July, in my central Indiana garden. Not sure why. They also have spread quite a bit. So, while I will not be pulling them out, I have begun to rely on asters for fall blooming. Since the asters are native, I feel they will be easier to predict. The colors are beautiful, although there is not, to my knowledge, the lovely apricot/rust color range available in asters. Right now I have very pretty new england, new york, woods blue, woods purple, sky blue, white and some other unidentified very light pink asters. The butterflies and bees are all over them.

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Primary Sidebar

Updates from Carol Michel

* indicates required
Email Preferences

Categories

  • Blog (3,053)
  • Internal (2)

Blog Tags

annuals Blogging books bulbs dr. hortfreud embrace fairies fall family flowers fruits garden bloggers bloom day garden bloggers book club garden design gardeners gardening gardening geek gardens hoes holidays hortense hoelove houseplants humor indoor gardening insects lawn letters to gardening friends perennials rabbits reviews Secrets seeds shrubs spring tools trees vegetable garden vegetable gardening vegetables weather weeding weeds when a gardener wildflower wednesday winter

The Gardenangelists Podcast with Dee Nash

Gardenangelists Podcast

Footer

Gardenangelists Podcast with Dee Nash

Gardenangelists Podcast

Connect

  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • YouTube
  • maydreams icon

Quick Links

  • Home
  • Contact
  • Books
  • May Dreams Gardens
  • Podcast

Updates from Carol Michel

* indicates required
Email Preferences

Newsletter Archive

Copyright © 2023 · CarolJMichel.com · Sitemap · Privacy Policy

Book purchase links are affiliate links and Carol earns a small commission if you make a purchase.

We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “Accept”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies.
Do not sell my personal information.
Cookie SettingsAccept
Manage consent

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously.
CookieDurationDescription
cookielawinfo-checkbox-analytics11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-functional11 monthsThe cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-others11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other.
cookielawinfo-checkbox-performance11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance".
viewed_cookie_policy11 monthsThe cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data.
Functional
Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features.
Performance
Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.
Analytics
Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.
Advertisement
Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads.
Others
Other uncategorized cookies are those that are being analyzed and have not been classified into a category as yet.
SAVE & ACCEPT