Community Chat

[Biftu]

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@Imaoldhippie wrote:

@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.

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@Imaoldhippie wrote:

@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.

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@Imaoldhippie I've bought "hardy" mums at the garden center, still no luck with them returning.

[Imaoldhippie]

@Biftu .................Sorry you had no luck with your hardy mums.

[tototwo]

Usually, mum's sold at florist shops are not hardy and don't come back the next year. Mums sold at nurseries or garden centers are hardier and will come back the next year if in planted in the ground. This rule doesn't always work though.

Mums in the ground need to be trimmed on Memorial Day and July 4th (or thereabouts) in order to be bushy and bloom on time in the fall.

Mums also need root room to thrive over winter. They usually don't survive in pots, unless you're lucky. I've never been lucky. But I do have several mums in the ground around my house that I've had 10-15 years, and they get bigger every year. One of my favorite bloomers - can you tell?

[DrBabs]

I tried valiantly for years to have mums in the ground and in pots. Finally gave up and found some very realistic faux mums that I "plant" in my front porch urns and surround them with real sweet potato vine. Looks great each fall and no garden regrets!

[haddon9]

I put them in pots on my porch and get new each year.  They are perennials and when planted come back bigger each year (ask me how I know!). They can get out of control!  Then there are times when they don't come back at all.

[Trailrun23]

I put mine in pots and use them on my front porch, and on the back patio. I have only one pot coming back now and it has tiny bids. I am excited to see them since it was around the side of the house and I had forgotten about it; somehow it survived our brutal summer heat and zero rain. Don't even know what color they are yet. Mums are in all the stores and nurseries now but it's still too hot to buy any imho.

[Trailrun23]

Yes! Total neglect is what has worked for me when I want my mums to come back.

[Trailrun23]

Instead of putting them in the garbage, put them in the backyard somewhere out of sight and forget about  them. Then check them the next August... you may see some signs of life! 

[Boomernichols]

@Biftu  The planting of the mums did not work out for me.  I now purchase them and display them in the pots for curb appeal as I enjoy their color pop when everything starts to fade.

[50Mickey]

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@Trailrun23 wrote:

Instead of putting them in the garbage, put them in the backyard somewhere out of sight and forget about  them. Then check them the next August... you may see some signs of life! 

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That's what I ussed to do when I lived in south Georgia near the coast. When my mums were finished for the season I left them in the pots and placed them in the woods behind my house. In August I would cut them back and start regular watering. They would come back for a second season. They were never as pretty as the first year but still bloomed and had lots of color