How to Grow Mums aka Chrysanthemums
Chrysanthemums or âmums,â the quintessential autumn flower celebrate the season in jewel colors: Yellow, lavender pink, purple, red, bronze, orange, and white. Each bloom consists of tiny flowers called florets. The leaves are blue-green. Bloom forms range in size from pincushion petite to giant spiders, and there are hundreds from which to chose. Discover how to plant, grow, and care for these colorful members of the daisy family!
About Mums
The chrysanthemum was first cultivated in China as a flowering herb back in 15th century B.C. Based on early illustrations, it appeared as more of a daisy-like flower. Since then, the mum has been bred in so many shapes, sizes, showy styles and a multitude of colors that it doesn’t always resemble its humble beginnings.
Credit: Mums.org
According to the National Chrysanthemum Society, âthe genus Chrysanthemum once included more species, but was split several decades ago into several genera, putting the economically important florist chrysanthemum in the genus Dendranthema. The placement of the florist chrysanthemum in this genus was very contentious. A ruling of the International Code of Botanical Nomenclature in 1999 changed the defining species of the genus Chrysanthemum to C. indicum, giving the florist mum back its prized generic name.â The National Chrysanthemum Society divides bloom forms into 13 classes.
Decorative Mums
Treat mums sold in garden centers in autumn as annuals. They are decorative gift plants, which are not bred to be hardy. It’s their color, size, and form that are prized in the fall garden. Do not try to overwinter them. They are not bred to be hardy. If put in the ground in late fall, many won’t make it through a cold winter.
To create a busier mum plant, pinch back the stems. When new shoots reach 3 to 4 inches tall, pinch off the top, leaving 2 to 3 leaves on the shoot. This will create a bushier plant. Continue pinching every 2 to 3 weeks until mid July, when buds develop. On the West Coast, stop inching in early July. In the South, stop in early August. Stop fertilizing when flower buds emerge.
Southerners enjoy the colorful displays of blooming mums twice yearly because the equal days and nights of temperate weather that spur mums to bloom arrive in spring and fall. Northerners must be satisfied with one show, in autumn.
- Mums are heavy feeders. Fertilize monthly by sprinkling a balanced fertilizer (10-10-10) around the plant.
- Maintain good air circulation around plants.
- Add mulch around the mum to conserve soil moisture and to keep weeds out.
- Soak the soil deeply when watering. Avoid watering the leaves.
- For big flowers, pinch off all buds except the largest and strongest on each stem. Remove secondary buds farther down the stem as they develop, too. Switch to a high-nitrogen fertilizer after buds have set.
- If flower size does not matter, stop fertilizing in mid-August.
- After the ground has frozen, spread 4 to 6 inches of mulch around the plant.
- Do not cut back mums in fall. The dead growth insulates the roots. Cut off the dead stems and leaves when you see the first green shoots in spring.
Overwintering Mums
In particularly cold areas (Zones 4 and colder), it’s easiest to treat mums as annuals. However, you can overwinter plants in a basement or dark, cold closet. Pot up plants after the first frost in the fall, capturing as many of the roots as possible. Leave the foliage on the plants until spring. In USDA Hardiness Zones 5 and warmer, perennial chrysanthemums can be kept outdoors (in the ground) through the winter.
- Water well and keep the roots damp. Check pots weekly.
- In spring, gradually introduce the plants to light. Set them out after the last killing frost.
- Add 4 to 6 inches of mulch around the plant after the ground has frozen in the fall.
- Donât cut back mums when tidying up flower beds in the fall. The dead growth insulates the roots.
- Cut off the dead stems and leaves when you see the first green shoots emerging in the spring.
Dividing Mums
Every 2 to 3 years, divide the mum when new growth appears in the spring. Use a knife cut out the old central portion of the plant. Discard it. Cut the remaining portion into sections. Each section should have several shoots and good roots. Replant these sections.
There are 13 bloom classes of mums! The classes are based on flower form and petal shape.
Yellow Flowers
- âJessicaâ: mid-season, long-lasting bright yellow flowers
- âYellow Sarahâ: late-blooming, yellow flowers with quilled petals
Lavender/Pink Flowers
- âCabernetâ: late-season, lavender flowers up to 3 inches in diameter â
- Tripoliâ very late-season, vibrant pink daisy-shape flowers with yellow centers
Purple Flowers
- âTinkerbellâ: early-season, strong\compact plant with intense purple flowers
- âBarbaraâ: late-season, small plant with purple pompon-shape flowers
Red Flowers
- âRuby Moundâ: early-season, maroon-red large flowers
- âGarnetâ: mid-season, red pompon-shape flowers that mature to bronze
Bronze Flowers
- âCheyenneâ: mid-season, large plant with button-like texture
- âDeniseâ: very late-season, large plant with pastel bronze flowers
White Flowers
- âChablisâ: early-season, the white flowers have a creamy center
- âPatriotâ: mid- to late-season, pure white pompon-shape flowers
Image: Pink Spider Chrysanthemum. Credit: EdenGardenGr.
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Potted mums purchased in autumn will often overwinter with little effort, at least mine do. I do repot them when I bring them home, however. Most people leave them in their plastic tubs and simply dispose of them after bloom. I look forward to a few hours in the cool garage in fall, potting up the new mums - there's always a new color that catches my eye, too. Standard, inexpensive potting soil, no need for fertilizer. I only buy mums that are just starting to bloom or have only buds - obviously, they last longer. When they are done blooming and repeated nightly frosts are likely, I take them into the garage: detached, unheated. I let the greenery fade a little, then I cut them down. There is always new green hidden at the base of the plant. The article suggests leaving the greenery and giving some water overwinter - I may try that on a few as an experiment this year, but previously I have not watered or left green. In spring, around mid-April, I just set them outside, give them a drink and wait. Within 2 weeks they are greening up again. Once in a while one might not return, but usually they all do if they are a single season old. I've had many, many that return for a third year! I know this is not supposed to happen, but it does! Now, they take all summer to keep growing and get buds. Mine from last year are just starting to flower now - some need another couple weeks. They usually double in size, too. It's fun remembering the colors I have as they open. A few big pots of greenery all summer are nice to place strategically around and I also like to keep a big grouping of them all together in another area, then bring them out front as they flower. Of course this will tie up your pots for a couple years but I have plenty of pots now. I still buy new mums yearly to replace the ones that won't make after a second or third bloom, so the pots get rotated. Give it a try, even with a few, just to see what happens!
This was extremely helpful! Thanks
I did the same exact thing one year. I planted potted mums from the supermarket along the border of the garden not expecting them to survive the winter but they did. They survived for 3 years until we had a very wet winter which killed them.
I'm not a gardener. I had a plant that I planted last fall, after the blooms were gone. I summer in PA, and when I returned here, the plant had survived the winter, and grown to about two feet. Should I cut it back? Do you think it will bloom again?
I do enjoy the article on each flower you select to give us information about. I too copy and put in a binder for reference later; I also do a copy for my 94 year old gardener who still gardens in pots but has extended beds around her house being kept up by her gardeners. Thank you for each dayâs write-up. I look forward to my Almanac email each day while I drink my coffee. A request; could you please do an article on the Tuberoses? Thank you.
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