A Gardeners Forum Forums Gardening Reference Gardening in 2006 Care of mums

At Lowes today, they were setting up a display of mums and I could not help myself. I bought 8 little ones to put in my shade garden and now I realise that I know very little about them. I believe they are a perennial. I'd appreciate any help - I love their colours in the Fall.

um, I think they are full sun rather than shade plants. Other than that they are very very easy care. Yes they are a perennial but you will have to cut them back to about 4 inches from the ground and cover them with mulch after they are done blooming to get them to survive until next year. I lost 2 out of 5 last year and this year what I have is much much smaller.

And that's all I know about mums. Hopefully someone will come along who knows bunches more.

Hi gardeningmomma I planted mine in partial shade and they grow wonderfully.. I have 10 in the front of my house They come back bigger and better every year.. I don't cut them back till spring though. I tried it one year on only one.. the one died off I think it was too green and the frost came to fast!....You might give it a try.. Make sure you get the Hardy ones..

Hi I grew some mums when lived in Indpls.I never cut them back till spring& I mounded the soil around them& would leave kind of a drainage ditch.I used 9 inches of mulch but it was a airy type stuff and would lay a few evergreen branches over(a snow thing it snows.. dump off lay back.)They do best in full sun.
Liveing in the south my mums behave different.They bloom in spring& fall & in july I cut them back& root what I cut off and most of it takes root and thats with no rooting stuff.I just shove a woody stem 2-3 inches in a pot of potting mix and keep moist and shaded and in fall set those out.I have yellow ,bronze,white& a small start of some burgandy.Its best to buy them with lots of buds unopened so you will have a long bloom time& most the store bought ones may have been forced budded so you may not know their actual bloom time till the following grow season.they have early/mid& late bloomers. you would LOVE this place.It shows the types of mums& they are reasonably priced.
http://www.kingsmums.com/

Thanks guys! I'll try them in my partial shade area then. Sounds like I'd be better off waiting until spring before I cut them back though.
Thanks

In New York the mums freeze in the winter. Come spring you will have only sticks.....
But the mum will come back aroud the the bottoms of the sticks.......

They shall return, if they are the Hardy type.
Note some arent hardy.

dodge

Mums are the easiest plant to root from cuttings. I've had a lot of success with rooting them.

gardenfairy.

Your correct.

dodge

How would I take a cutting? Would I put it in water? How much should I cut?
Thanks.

Could I pant them in pots and then bring them in for the Winter?
Thanks

gardeningmama

take a cutting on some young branches.. about 4 inches.....make sure you have the cut right below the noodle where the leaf was.
Remove the leaves that will be below the water line......

That ought to do it....
I never brought any in?? They winter over well.

dodge

heck,ive even just took a small branch that got cut off accidentally and stuck it in the ground nearby. doin well right this moment

Sure if you keep it watered.......You can do that right now with geraniums and poinsettas also.

Last summer I did that with Weigelia bushes.. It is still growing.

Thanks for the nice advice.

dodge