Looking for a few easy ways to keep your mums alive over the winter after they finish blooming this fall?
Mums might be the official flower for decorating during the autumn months, but filling your landscape with all of that fall color can get quite expensive. Especially when you consider that you have to purchase them again each and every fall to decorate again.
But it doesn’t have to be that way – not when you can save them to grow again next year! As it turns out, a large majority of the mums sold are actually hardy varieties. And that means with just a little bit of late season care, you can save them to grow in pots and containers again next year – and save big on the budget!
As a perennial, mums are quite easy to maintain from year to year. In fact, once they establish in the landscape, they are virtually maintenance free other than an occasional cutting back to keep blooms full and strong.
With all of those advantages in mind, here are two of the easiest methods of all to save your fading mums this fall for next year!
How To Keep Mums Alive After They Bloom – 2 Ways To Save Mums Over Winter!
Before you go to the trouble of trying to save your mums this fall, it’s important to first make sure you have saveable mums. There are actually two types of mums that are sold for displays in the fall – garden mums and floral mums. And they are certainly different when it comes to their hardiness.
Garden mums are savable. They are a true perennial, and with a little fall preparation, can be kept alive to grow year after year. With hardiness from growing zones 5 through 9, as long as they are established in the soil, they can handle cold and snowy winters.
Meanwhile, floral mums are not hardy in the least and cannot overwinter. No matter the care, they will not come back. With shallow, tender roots, they simply do not have the root structure to withstand any cold at all. Once subjected to even the slightest of frost or frigid temperatures, they will quickly die out.
Floral Versus Hardy Mums
So how do you know which type of mum you have? In general, tiny or very small mums that grow in smaller containers tend to be floral varieties. Floral mums also usually have much smaller stems and leaf sets – and more tightly packed blooms than their hardy counterparts.
If you do have floral mums, once they fade away, it’s time to put them in the compost pile. Meanwhile, larger mums in larger pots most often tend to be savable hardy garden mums.
Most hardy mums are labeled “hardy” or “garden”. If there is no label, a good indicator is the size. If your mums have large blooms and leaf sets – they are most likely hardy mums. And of course, that means you can save them!
For the record, the good news is that the large majority of mums that sell in stores each fall tend to be hardy mums. They simply have more flower power and size, and are more attractive to customers.
How To Save Hardy Garden Mums For Next Year – How To Keep Mums Alive After They Bloom
Saving mums really is quite the easy task. There are actually several methods for overwintering – and selecting the best all depends on how your mums are currently growing – whether it be in pots and containers, or in the ground.
Saving Potted Mums – How To Keep Mums Alive After They Bloom
When saving potted mums, the first key is to never let them endure a freeze in their pot or container. Always move mums to safety indoors when extremely low temperatures or a freeze is in the forecast. Mums can survive light frosts and cold fairly easily, but a hard freeze will kill the roots in pots permanently.
When your mums’ flowers begin to fade, or when the temperatures simply become too cold in late fall, it’s time to move your plants to safety for good. For mums in pots in late fall, that means getting them indoors to survive their first winter.
Although you can plant mums directly in the ground in late summer or early fall, waiting until late in the season to do this usually will result in a mum’s failure. And since most gardeners like to decorate late into the season with their mums, inside is the way to go.
Unfortunately, mums planted back into the ground in late fall have little chance for survival. Even with heavy mulching, they simply don’t have time to establish in the soil for protection. When that happens, their roots freeze out fairly easily.
Bringing Mums Indoors – How To Keep Mums Alive After They Bloom
There are a few simple steps you should take before bringing container mums indoors. First, cut the mum back a few inches above the potted soil line. This will take it down to its stems and a few small leaves. No need to worry, the mum will survive and recover.
If the soil is dry to the touch, lightly water the plant, being careful not to saturate it. Too much water over the winter can cause the plant’s roots to rot out. Next, for best success, store in a cool corner of the basement or a semi-heated or insulated garage.
The goal is to allow the plant to go dormant without freezing. Temperatures that range from 45° to 60°F are ideal to keep it dormant but alive. You will want to water them from time to time through the winter, but only lightly every few weeks. Again, always being careful not to over-saturate the soil.
What To Do With Potted Mums In The Spring – How To Keep Mums Alive After They Bloom
When early spring arrives, it’s time to start getting your mums ready for outdoor life again. The easiest method to keep mums growing is to simply plant them directly into the landscape.
Mums are a beautiful perennial plant, and provide beautiful greenery in flowerbeds in early spring and summer. But as you will see below, you can repot them too.
When the threat of frost has passed, you can plant them outdoors as you would any other perennial. For overly large mums, this is also the perfect time to split and divide them to create new plants. To do this, simply cut apart into equal sections with a sharp knife or shovel and replant.
Be sure to keep plants well watered for the first few weeks to help establish them in the soil. Mums prefer rich, fertile and well draining soil, so adding compost when planting into flowerbeds will help them re-establish much more successfully.
Repotting Mums In The Spring – How To Keep Mums Alive After They Bloom
If you want to grow your mums in a pot or container again, you will need to re-pot them with new potting soil. This allows for plenty of new nutrients for the new season. Unfortunately, if left in the same soil, the plants will struggle to regain their strength.
If the roots have grown too big for the same size pot, (this will usually be the case) you will need to replant into a larger vessel, or split and divide to allow room for root growth. Like with all container and basket plants, wait until the threat of frost has passed to divide and transplant.
So what about the mums you might have already growing in the soil this fall? As you will see below, they are even easier to care for and save!
Saving Planted Mums – How To Keep Mums Alive After They Bloom
If you have mums growing in the landscape, or if you planted your mums in early fall for a display, you can overwinter them in place outdoors. As long as the mums have at least four to six weeks in the ground before the first frost, the roots will likely set.
For mums that are staying in the landscape, do not cut the foliage or blooms back! By leaving the leaves and stems in place, it helps to provide extra protection for the mums through winter.
In addition to leaving the foliage in place, apply a thick layer (4 inches) of mulch around the plant to help insulate the roots as well. Once you have mulched the plants, you can leave them be until spring. For oversized mums, always wait until spring to dig up and divide.
Summer Care – How To Keep Mums Alive After They Bloom
When growing for a full season outdoors (spring to fall), you will need to trim back your plants in mid summer if you want fall blooms. Mums will usually bloom in late summer if left alone, but to have stronger and tighter blooms and to have fall blooms, you will need to prune them back in late June or early July.
To do this, either pinch or cut off the blooms in the middle of summer. This allows plenty of time for the plant to regrow tighter foliage and bloom sets. This delays the blooming until fall, when most gardeners want their mums to bloom for a fall display.
Mums that grow a full season in the landscape will be fine to overwinter in place. However, if you dig them up to pot them, you will once again need to overwinter indoors until the following spring. Here is to keeping your mums alive after they bloom! Happy Gardening – Jim & Mary
Old World Garden
Jim and Mary Competti have been writing gardening, DIY and recipe articles and books for over 15 years from their 46 acre Ohio farm. The two are frequent speakers on all things gardening and love to travel in their spare time.
As always, feel free to email us at thefarm@owgarden.com with comments, questions, or to simply say hello! You can sign up for our free email list in the subscribe now box in the middle of this article. Follow us on Facebook here : OWG Facebook. This article may contain affiliate links.