topic Re: Planting Mums? in Community Chat

Planting Mums?

Biftu — Sun, 25 Sep 2022 16:35:15 GMT

Do you plant your mums or just decorate with them in their pots in the garden? I've tried planting them in the past but they never came back the following year. I think they look better planted, but not sure it's worth the effort.

Re: Planting Mums?

millieshops — Sun, 25 Sep 2022 16:54:53 GMT

@Biftu When I owned on Long Island, I had lots of planted mums as perennials, but where I am in the Florida tropics, I use pots for them.

Re: Planting Mums?

Creek Street — Sun, 25 Sep 2022 16:55:51 GMT

I keep mine in pots and they come back every year.

Re: Planting Mums?

Kachina624 — Sun, 25 Sep 2022 16:58:29 GMT

When I bought my house 23 years ago, there was a huge mound of mums in a bed in the back of the house. They were not attractive. Dad and I worked hard and eventually got rid if the whole big pile of them. I supposed somebody had planted their autumn plant.

Re: Planting Mums?

Zhills — Sun, 25 Sep 2022 17:21:42 GMT

My neighbor 2 planted and they bloom twice a year!

Her secret is neglect!

Re: Planting Mums?

BlueFinch — Sun, 25 Sep 2022 17:05:36 GMT

I had a beautiful one in a large, heavy clay pot for probably six years, or so. It was full of blooms every year. It seemed to like my TX climate and the location of the pot.

It became sickly and eventually died, though. I'm sure it had to be root bound, but it was in a difficult pot to transplant. Maybe if it was in the ground in the same location, it would have survived.

Re: Planting Mums?

sunshine45 — Sun, 25 Sep 2022 17:08:46 GMT

we have some planted around our lamppost that are coming back, but have not bloomed yet. patiently waiting..... they do seem to look like they will be nice and full.

Re: Planting Mums?

RedTop — Sun, 25 Sep 2022 17:15:26 GMT

I'm in WV and leave them in their pots. We get to enjoy their color for September and most of October before they get frozen, and go out in the garbage.

Re: Planting Mums?

KathyM23 — Sun, 25 Sep 2022 17:27:45 GMT

Most of our planting is in the front yard. Very proud of all of DH's hard, crreative work. So when planting mums, they are put in beautiful pots as there are many perennials for all seasons planted there is really no room left for perennials like the mums as we also want many annuals to leave space to plant every year.

As I stated in another post, at the end of the season, DH takes the mums out of the pots and plants them out back. Right now I am looking at 5 large mums planted out back from last year. This year they are huge and already colorful. Works well for us, mums used to be hardy and lately it is hit or miss if they come back yearly.

Re: Planting Mums?

Biftu — Sun, 25 Sep 2022 17:34:33 GMT

Maybe their return is based on the planting zone where you live. I'm in the northeast. Maybe I'll try planting them again this year.

Re: Planting Mums?

ValuSkr — Sun, 25 Sep 2022 17:57:54 GMT

I haven't had good luck with them coming back either (SE PA), but admittedly I don't have much sun.

Now I just don't buy them. I love them, and love seeing them on other people's porches and gardens. But I can't bear to just throw them in the trash when they're done.

Re: Planting Mums?

catter70 — Sun, 25 Sep 2022 18:02:07 GMT

I buy 1 pot a year and leave them in the pot and when they are done I offer to my sister who plants them. If she doesn't want them, I put them in the trash. My ground is like cement and I can't dig it.

Re: Planting Mums?

homedecor1 — Sun, 25 Sep 2022 18:42:32 GMT

I put in pots as I was ambitious when I first moved here planted them all in the front beds..lasted 1 week. The heat here must have killed them or I overwatered them. After that expense, I never did it again🥹

I now just buy a nice potted one for my porch.

Re: Planting Mums?

skatting44 — Sun, 25 Sep 2022 18:49:45 GMT

I buy big pots for my front door then plant them in the ground .

Re: Planting Mums?

moonandthestars — Mon, 26 Sep 2022 04:06:13 GMT

@Biftu I'm in the northeast too. The mums I plant, for the most part, have been returning each year. They add nice off season color. In general initially I usually do a mixture of plant in the ground and planters. If the ones in the planters do well, I will try to plant them also towards the end of the season.

Re: Planting Mums?

Sooner — Mon, 26 Sep 2022 04:38:44 GMT

We may put one in a pot on the front porch. Our last house had 11 garden beds (one feet long), an 80 x 15 terraced garden and lots of flowers and herbs and we have been there done that!

Moved to a more low maintenance yard, and because of weather and lack of beds are glad to be without at this point.

Re: Planting Mums?

HLP — Mon, 26 Sep 2022 09:41:50 GMT

@RedTop wrote:
I'm in WV and leave them in their pots. We get to enjoy their color for September and most of October before they get frozen, and go out in the garbage.

My Sons neighbors decorate with them in pots. Last year they pulled them and threw them over the hill, my son brought them to me and they are growing and ready to bloom. Don't throw them out plant them in the ground. PS I live in WV too. N. Panhandle.

Re: Planting Mums?

Grade1Teach — Mon, 26 Sep 2022 10:15:41 GMT

I am on Long Island and I have done both.

When I planted hardy mums into the ground, they would come back, but they were just too much to care for. They grow back and get buds in July (around here), but they have to be cut back a few inches because you don't want a premature bloom. When you cut them back in July, they will get buds again in September and bloom the way they are supposed to.

I did that for two years and I wasn't happy. I had these bushy plants with no flowers during the summer months and then mums of all different sizes during the fall months. Some were tremendous and I just didn't care for the way they looked. I pulled them out Year 2.

It's back to mums in pots for me!

Re: Planting Mums?

Imaoldhippie — Mon, 26 Sep 2022 10:23:45 GMT

@Biftu ...............The reason your mums never come back is because they are not "hardy", meaning they are not perennials.

If you want perennial mums buy them as "hardy". You usually have to buy them at a real greenhouse garden shop and not at Walmart, grocery, Lowes, etc. Those are for short term decoration.

Re: Planting Mums?

ScrapHappy — Mon, 26 Sep 2022 11:03:55 GMT

I've kept them in pots and placed them on the steps leading to my house/porch and planted them too. I have 2 very large planters on either side of my steps leading to the house. When we were at Costco, they had HUGE mums for $16. Gorgeous. I never got them until this year because mums are always out in my area in September and it's still so hot here that they never did well for me. But I/m taking a chance and got two and so far so good. We pull them out when season is over.