Seem like only a small percentage of the Mums I plant in the Fall come back.
Any advise appreciated.
Any tips on getting Mums to survive the winter?
Make sure they're hardy garden mums, not florist mums, which are not winter-hardy. And plant in the ground, not in a container, then mulch before it gets cold. I'm no expert, but that's what little I know! Hope it helps.
This message was edited Sep 24, 2007 7:43 PM
Cottage_Rose, there is a definite divide between orthern Mums and Southern and Florist mums.
When you buy them, potted, look for new growth at the base, this is the kind that is more likely to come back in the spring.
I have heard that they are more likely to come back in the spring if you pant them immediately in the garden, and if you do NOT cut back the dead growth. Leaves and debris should blow into your gaden eand get caught by the dead growth and that is their airy, loose mulch for the season. I am trying both things, but as I said, these are things I heard (read) so I don't know if they are true.
I think the new growth at the base is the better indicator.
Suzy
Most hardy mums sold today, are not very hardy. The breeders care more about color ,size and form. Hardiness has largely been forgoten.
There was a mum co-op a little bit ago and you could tell by the prices (.50 per plug) that they must by and large be considered a throw away plant at the end of the flowering period.
They were from Faribault in Minnesota--would those be considered hardy? A couple of the ones I got are supposed to be the Football corsage type mums which aren't really my thing--are those considered florist mums?
New addictions lead to many new questions:LOL:
LOL! Or else they are just so darn easy to propagate.
The Faribault mums might be grown exclusively in a greenhouse... I don't know, but they could be, in which case, the Minnesota part making them sound so hardy is just an address.
The Football mums are Southern mums, and florist mums, too. Definitely not northern mums! The are very odd growing. Sort of staked up and disbudded like dahlias. Really, I have seen prettier tomato plants than those football mums once they are trussed and disbudded.
I had a few more pop up this past week. Naturally the plain old ugly yella ones I planted form a tiny piece are all up and rarin' to go.
I will definitely have pieces of a mid-tall pink one called Medicine Bow from Bluestoneperennials.com to share with one and all -- it's just getting the time to get them ready and dug and stuff and address envelopes. It is the same exact color as the Pink Japanese Anemones..sort of a rose.
Suzy
It was funny because some people in the co-op were all about the football mums. I really wasn't wanting to go with them because I figured there would have to be a lot of staking and support for the large flower heads.
Plus, I've got to keep the size of my stuff smaller or more in scale with the small area I've got to work with.
Maybe they were cut flower growers. If so, those gigantic flowers really carry a premium price, so it's a real good investment for them.
Suzy
So does this mean I lucked out when I bought my mums at the end of fall last year? I bought 8 sad little plants for something like a dollar a piece. 6 made it into the ground. All of them have come back, even the two left out in the pots. I did leave the dead growth. But that is only because I am too lazy in the fall to clean it up!
I did the same thing a few years ago and I got another season out of some of the garden center mums. The thing is that some are grown as hardy mums for in the garden planting and some are grown as annuals, florist or greenhouse mums. It's the difference between field grown and hot house grown. The field grown are tougher plants and the hot house are considered as short term throwaways.
Cottage_Rose: Its also good to make sure they along with all your other plants have been watered and fertilized well prior to freezes. We deal with ups and downs here so it can be 70s in the am and snow that night... no kidding. I usually like to watch the weather and water at least one day before if not the 2 days prior.
Just a thought
Dave