Garden

[Biftu]

Are there any mums that are perennials?  I get tired of spending on mums for the fall every year.  I realize they force the ones you generally buy in the fall, but I would like to find some that would come back each year.

[gonnab]

Mums ARE perennials.  Take the potted ones that are so plentiful this time of year and plant them in the ground. 

[Lovs2shop]

Indeed Mums are perennials.  What you are paying for in the fall is the nursery shaping them all summer long and feeding them so the blooms are the best they can be.  If you want them to look their best, you should look online for info on how to do this.  If you trim them too early, they will be leggy and or floppy,  to late and you cut off the buds

[Desertdi]

If you live in a severe climate, cut them back, and put an inverted clay pot over them for the cold season.

[Sweetbay magnolia]

Some are more reliable than others, and they have been heavily marketed to a "fall annual" audience.  I find the crop to be unreliable and unsustainable many times, as they have often been grown for show and not longevity.

Yes, many do "come back" if planted and cared for properly.  In my mind they take up a lot of real estate for the small gains you get after all the tending is done.  That's why I buy the "temporary" ones each year!  

[southres]

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@Sweetbay magnolia wrote:

Some are more reliable than others, and they have been heavily marketed to a "fall annual" audience.  I find the crop to be unreliable and unsustainable many times, as they have often been grown for show and not longevity.

Yes, many do "come back" if planted and cared for properly.  In my mind they take up a lot of real estate for the small gains you get after all the tending is done.  That's why I buy the "temporary" ones each year!  

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I agree.  I'm in MA and have tried many times to winter over my fall mums.  I think I had maybe a couple survive over the years.  I do have 2 varieties of mums that come back and spread nicely.  They are tall but I cut them back in the summer as they are late bloomers and would be too tall and susceptible to falling over in heavy rain. One I picked up at a yard sale and the other from my parent's house before we sold it. They are a little  different from the typical mums you see now. I still buy the ones available now, but don't try to save them anymore.

[GinaV24]

they used to sell "hardy" mums which would winter over if you cut them back and mulched them good for the winter.  I haven't had a lot of success in wintering over the ones that are commonly sold now.

[JustJazzmom]

Many times if you are buying mums in the fall, they cannot establish a decent root system in the ground before winter and then they don't come back either. If you get a lot of snow that remains on the ground, they could also root rot too.

I agree with what others have said- either buy in spring; put into the ground and continue to trim back in summer before letting them go and set their buds by mid July/August for fall bloom.

[hoosieroriginal]

Not all mums are perenials.  There is one that is, but there are a lot on the market that are not.  You need to check with your garden center. 

[Biftu]

Thanks everyone.  I have planted mums In the ground in the fall and none have come back the next year.  I guess the cold and snow gets to them.  Maybe planting them, if you can find them, in the spring/summer may work.