Planting fall garden mums?

First, leave the foliage on the plants until spring. Don't prune them back after frost has turned them brown. Then, either mulch the plants heavily or dig, pot and move the plants to a more protected spot in the garden for the winter. If you choose to move the plants, do so before the first hard freeze.

Do not fertilize plants; this causes new growth which will be damaged by cold. Cover the plants with a row cover during early cold spells, removing the cover during the day. This can extend the growing period for the plants. Mulch the base with leaves, and make sure the ground is not dry before a major cold spell. If you receive rain, you don't need to water more.

I planted fall mums in large pots in Northern Idaho. They not only lasted all winter, survived extreme and long term freeze, but came back ever more beautiful the next year.

Are they hardy mums or just a one season mum? Hardy mums should come back.

I think there's a pretty good chance they'll survive. I've planted some in the ground in late October, and they came back in spring, though our winters on the east coast are not as cold as yours.

I've also planted some in planters (whiskey barrels or large plastic pots), left them over the winter not expecting them to survive, but they did. All I had to do in spring was cut them back hard and wait for them to grow again. After they start growing in spring, wait until late June or so and cut them back by about half to make them branch out and get bushy.

Water the plants well until we freezing temperatures consistently. Do not cut back until spring. I live near you and probably 50-75% of the mums I've planted have come back.