Asked on Oct 03, 2015
Mums in containers or soil?
by
Hattie16
+21
Can you plant mums in the soil or is it better to leave in the container we buy them in? I've been told both. Help! They are so beautiful and I don't want to kill them. Thanks....
14 answers
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You can definitely plant them in the ground and for many they will come back next year. Make sure they get in the ground before the first frost so they have a chance to get used to their new home. Don't forget to water and after the first frost when the flowers and foliage die add some mulch to protect the plant through winter.
Patti @Hearth and Vine
on Oct 04, 2015
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Patti is right, and I might add a few other notes. Plant your mums in well drained soil, full sun exposure and they should return next year. We used to cut mums to the ground after they freeze in the early winter but have learned that the old stems offer some winter protection so it is best to trim them back in the spring when they start greening up. You will have more luck with hardy mums also called garden mums. The ones from a florist are often forced for blooms and are not very hardy although I have had some survive.
Colleen Walpert
on Oct 04, 2015
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Prepare your ground by digging a square foot of space for each plant, Keep the dirt that comes out of the hole & place it in a bucket. Combine it with the same amount of peat moss plus 1 tsp. triple 8 (888) fertilizer. Place a little of the mixture into the hole & insert the plant, & fill the rest of the hole with the remaining mixture. Water it real good & walk away. Only water them again when the soil is dry to the touch. All of these ingredients can be purchased at Walmart. :)
Pam Walker
on Oct 04, 2015
- See 1 previous
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Mums will return next year providing the are perennial mums.You absolutely can grow them in pots just make sure you put them in a large enough container and water.Next year when the emerge half way through the growing season cut them back and they should fill out nicely.
Janet Pizaro
on Oct 04, 2015
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I always replant my mums in containers & the soil. They do return next year, or just pull them out when the season is done. I think they do better, but I buy small mums to start with.
Jane
on Oct 04, 2015
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I plant mine in the soil and most come back next year. If you leave the stems, they will mark the spot where they'll come up. And the foliage immediately looks like mum foliage so it's easy to recognize. When they start to grow, pinch them to get nice and bushy. Did you know you can take those pinched ends and put them in the ground? More mums. Believe me, it works. Some may die, but most will root and live.
Kim Smith
on Oct 04, 2015
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I have bought mums for years to put in urns on my front porch. I leave them in the original pot and put pot and mum in the urn for the fall. When it is time to change the plantings to something for the holidays, I plant the mums in a garden bed. They have come back every year. I cut them back after our last frost date and they usually bloom twice a year for me.
Lorraine
on Oct 04, 2015
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Thank you!
Hattie16
on Oct 04, 2015
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Either way works. We plant then in flower beds and in oir patio urns. Some years we just leave them in the store contained and dig a hole big enough for the pot. Then we just cover them with mulch. The fact is, they're done after the first cold heavy rain.
Lisa B.
on Oct 05, 2015
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Hi Hattie, The ladies are all right. Here in New England I find they sell a different kind of mum in the spring which is not hardy enough to make it through the winter. The ones they sell in the fall usually will survive. I do as Kim Smith does so that I don't make a mistake and pull them while weeding. The leaf on the Spring Mums is almost the same as the Fall Mum but, much more fragile. Fall Mums have a thicker leaf if that makes any sense.
Shari Coppinger
on Oct 05, 2015
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A few years ago I bought two different types of Mums and planted then into the ground, they come up every year and act more like a ground cover than a bushy type plant.
Sue Peet
on Oct 05, 2015
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Thank you.
Hattie16
on Oct 05, 2015
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When you are done enjoying them in their pots and they look like they are dying, plant them in the ground or larger containers. I have been doing this for years and they come back every year. I'm in Georgia so we get the same winters you do. As the branches die off, break them off. Then in the Spring watch for the little green leaves start to show at the bottom. I also will buy them cheap after the season and plant too. Good luck.
Georgia Kato
on Oct 06, 2015
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I live in eastern Oregon in the high Desert, with cold harsh winters and very hot summers. I have planted mums in the ground and had them come back year after year. The second year and the years after, they always come back many times bigger than they were in the pot. They love the hot so I tend to plant them on the south side of the house and they thrive.
Valerie Fanning
on May 11, 2016
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