Do hardy mums have seeds?

Purchased some beautiful mums from a greenhouse and would like to plant more from their seeds. If they have seeds, where are they located on the plant. Hoping they'll come back next year, but our winters are brutal with extended freeze, snow and wind.

I've always divided my hardy mums to get more plants rather than plant from seed. Your purchased plants may be hybrids and might not come true from seed. With root division, you'll get the same plants. Have never done cuttings because the root division has always been so easy. I have a couple that have been with me for 20 years - even survived the past winter.

Wow Cindy.... do you do anything special to your mums to help them over winter to come back? I read recently that it helps to mulch them well any other suggestions would be welcome

A lot depends on the type of mum and how it was grown. Are you wanting to plant them in the garden or to keep as houseplants (which can also be a little tricky)? I'm no expert but if you want them in the garden, it would seem that now would be the time to plant them. The ground will still have some warmth for the plants to settle in. There's a Mums and Asters forum that you should check out for advice from folks more knowledgeable than me.

Cindy,
Oh, I have 3 in my garden that i've planted in the past month. I just haven't had great luck with them coming back well year after year. Thank you!

You may want to keep the old foliage intact until spring as it might offer some extra protection. It's a theory. Good luck!

Yes, mums re-seed. I get little ones all over the place.

There are 2 types of Mums, the varieties offered in the Spring that are not hardy, and those offered in the Fall that are hardy.

The hardy ones do not produce seeds. I believe they are sterile. Spring types do reseed.

I have grown the hardy types for years in my zone 4a and have never lost any. They can be divided and/or propagated by cuttings (stems and roots). I cut them back after blooming to the ground. I don't mulch or baby them. They come back every year just a bit wider in clump.

There are a few Fall Mums that are not hardy in my zone. They tend to be fancier. Those below are the ones I have grown without loss.

I forgot to add that Home Depot sells them in the Fall. That is where I got mine from. Lowe's probably also. I got the 3" pot size since the enlarge pretty quick each year.

This message was edited Oct 27, 2014 11:04 PM

Well, I don't know what to say about the above comments. My mums were planted in the fall. They 1. come back every year and 2. they re-seed all over.
They bloom reliably every fall.

They were given to me by my mom. They were red-violet to begin with. Now, I have all kinds of colors in the same area that my red-violet ones started out. I have the red-violet as well as yellow, gold, bronze, orange, pink, and white.

Go figure! :)

birder17,
Probably because you are in zone 6b, which is much warmer than my zone 4a. I did mention there are some mums that are not hardy in my zone. I lost 2 before I knew that. Those may set seeds. I lost them during the winter. One was bicolor, so pretty.

However those shown above have never set seeds.

There are also mums called florist mums sold potted as gift plants. I don't know anything about those. Below are the one I lost over the winter.

kantzclan
I used to live in Massachusetts (MA) which is similar to PA winters. The mums I grow here in WY should do well in your climate. Home Depot sell many colors of mums in the Fall. I am not sure how the fancier ones will do in PA. I grew the same ones in MA, that I grow here in WY. They do not set seeds.

The Latin name for mums is Chrysanthemum and is in the same genus as white daisy. There are many varieties, not all hardy.

You can take a flower apart after it is wilted and check for seeds.

wow, that is educational. I have never had them go to seed, just return, but they were inexpensive fall mums and our drought nailed everything a couple of years ago, just now considering replanting. I usually start from cuttings if I can get any

I went to a garden lecture last night. The speaker said mums are no longer developed to last more than a season (annuals). She said you can't get perennial mums anymore. The nurseries are doing that so they can make more money.

so does anyone have some older variety mums we can take cuttings from?