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Hardy Mum

Filed under: — admin @ 1:23 pm


I had saved my hardy chrysanthemums in their original plastic pots and put the potted plants into the ground to over-winter. Now, I want to remove the plants from the plastic pots and transplant directly into the soil. My question is: When is the best time to do this? I live in Zone 4(Chicago area).

hardy mums

Not many of the “hardy” potted mums bought in autumn in zone 4 will survive the winter. Even though they are called hardy mums, their hardiness can vary. When growing mums for the market, there is more attention to color, shape and abundance of flowers than there is for cold hardiness. You can have a beautiful plant with a root system that cannot support it.
Planting in the fall, doesn’t always work because there may not be enough time to develop a good root system so plant in early fall. Best time to plant hardy mums is in the spring. In your case, try transplanting in the spring when the soil is workable; if any viable roots survived, you should see some green sprouting when the weather gets warmer. Otherwise, buy hardy mum plants in the spring and see how big they get by autumn.

To help hardy mums survive the winter cut back after they are done blooming leaving some of the stems to trap winter snow for insulation. Also mulch your mums after a hard freeze with several inches of straw, pine needles or evergreens. (Leaves tend to mat down and add little insulation. ) The added insulation will protect the root system.

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8 Comments on Hardy Mum»

  1. robin leger
    I was wondering what the botanical name is for garden mums.

    Garden mums is known as Chrysanthemum X morifolium, it has been currently renamed to Dendrathema X grandiflorum

    Comment by Robin — 3/19/2007 @ 1:30 pm

  2. I had beautiful mums planted and the deer nibbled the flowers off and more buds are forming. can I spray the plants with deer repellant without hurting the plant?? Also I planted Missouri Primroses in the fall,, which are perennial, will they sprout in the spring?? thanks for your help.. thanks for your help on getting my Peace lily to bloom for me with the right fertilizer you recommemded’ middle number higher then the first’

    Hi Nancy,
    It’s ok to use deer repellant on the mums. It should not hurt the plants. If you planted Missouri Primrose (Oenothera missouriensis) seeds, they will sprout in the spring and bloom the 2nd spring. If you planted the tuber-like root, it should return next spring and bloom. I’m glad your peace lilies are blooming-congratulate yourself !

    Comment by Nancy — 3/19/2007 @ 1:31 pm

  3. I have a daisy mum and it is dying down, how do I preserve it so it will continue to grow?

    I assume that you have a potted greenhouse grown mum. Once the flowers die back, cut them off and let the plant continue to grow. Best thing to do is to plant it outdoors if the weather permits(frost-free)then treat them the same way you would a hardy mum and that is pinch them back in June to get a bushier plant and with a little luck they should re-bloom in the fall. They are not hardy ( greenhouse mums have been hybridized for showy flowers and therefore loose other desireable traits such as hardiness. )In cooler climates you can try to re-bloom as mentioned above but they will not come back the following year.

    Comment by Darlene — 3/19/2007 @ 1:33 pm

  4. We have received potted mums as a gift. We are in Connecticut. They are currently in beautiful, large ceramic planters and these are outside on our front patio. We would like to care for them properly over the winter so that we can plant them in the garden in the spring. We have either dark rooms, or rooms windows that the sun comes through so strongly it burns anything we’ve put anywhere near them. Would it be too cold for them to winter in the garage ? There are windows and the garage is attached, so nothing in there actually freezes.
    What else do we need to do? trim them? water ?
    Thank you.

    The best way to winterize your mum is to keep it dormant. A gargage will work as long as it doesn’t get too much below freezing in the dead of winter. Trim back the plant as it will die back anyway. We want to protect the crown and roots of the mum. Use straw/ mulch on top of the plant for additional protection. Wrap the container with some kind of insulation (bubble wrap, plastic)to keep the roots from cold damage. Check on it periodically during the winter and give it just enough water to keep the roots moist.

    Comment by JOan — 3/19/2007 @ 1:43 pm

  5. I planted some hardy mums in pots with coleus. After a few weeks, the blooms died and I haven’t had any more, but the plant seems to be healthy. How can I get them to bloom again?

    Generally, once your mum is done blooming that’s it for the season but you may still get a few more flowers by deadheading the old flowers. There may be more flower buds under the spent flowers.

    Comment by Nicole — 9/13/2007 @ 3:13 pm

  6. My chrysanthemum plants were covered with blooms when I bought them. I cut off the spent blooms. What do I to to promote more?

    Cutting off the spent blooms, watering and keeping the plant is sunlight should do the trick if it has any more blooming potential left.

    Comment by Deanne knox — 12/27/2007 @ 5:18 pm

  7. I recently received a potted mum from a garden center - just the spring flower displays of potted plants. Since it has absolutely no information on the pot to identify the mum, is there any way for me to know if the mum is a hardy variety or an annual? I want to plant it outdoors permanently, but if it is an annual it might turn out to be wasted effort.

    Hi Jenny
    If the mum has bright large flowers on it then most likely it’s a greenhouse plant and not hardy. Hardy garden mums usually have smaller flowers not as showy as the greenhouse variety and would be sold(in Northern states) as small green plants with a few blooms or none at this time of year. These would be planted in spring to get a full season’s growth before they bloom in the fall. You can plant the greenhouse mum in the garden and it might rebloom in e. fall but will not winterover.

    Comment by Jenni — 3/2/2008 @ 9:18 am

  8. Hi. I planted some mums last year thinking they would die at frost. Today they look healthy and green. Will they flower?

    Yes, they should bloom this year. Be sure to pinch them back in June to produce bushier plants and more flowers.

    Comment by Julia — 4/1/2008 @ 5:44 pm

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