How to Keep Your Gorgeous Fall Mums Alive as Long as Possible

For the perfect late-season bloomer, you can't go wrong with chrysanthemums! Use these tips to help you plant, grow, and enjoy this favorite autumn flower.

Reviewed by Sylvia Duax

Some of the showiest summer blooms fade away when fall arrives, including pompon dahlias, Shasta daisies, African daisies, zinnias, coreopsis, and calendulas. But the late-season garden offers all these flower shapes from just one plant: the chrysanthemum. Available in dozens of exciting varieties, mums bloom for weeks. The number of brightly colored flowers per plant will confirm why mums are a favorite for filling porch pots and flower beds when other blooming plants start winding down. Here's what you need to know to grow and care for fall mums that are sure to liven up your landscape until winter sets in.

Are Chrysanthemums Annuals or Perennials?

One of the first questions people have about mums is whether they're annuals or perennials, and the answer is both! Mums generally come in two types: Florist mums (also known as cutting mums) and hardy mums (also known as garden mums). Both types come from the same original parent, a golden-yellow daisy-like mum from China. Today's hybrids in both categories result from endless crosses between several species from China and Japan. The result of such hybridization performed over hundreds of years is different types of mums that perform for two distinct purposes.

Florist mums have many possible bloom forms, including quilled, pompon, spider, and more. Grown in greenhouses and used only as indoor plants, florist mums produce few underground runners, which mums need to survive cold weather. Florist mums planted outside are most likely used as short-term bedding plants that will be removed when the blooms are spent, or frost kills them. You can plant a potted florist mum out you receive as a gift but don't expect it to survive the winter outside, no matter how much protection you give it.

Garden mums, on the other hand, can survive cold better. Most garden mums are perennials in Zones 5-9 and much more sturdy than florist types. However, some cultivars are less hardy than others and can be killed by an early spring frost.

How Do You Care for a Potted Mum Plant?

Both florist and garden mums make excellent container plants. Pop them into a clay pot or a fall window box by themselves or with other fall plants like flowering kale. Making sure your potted mums thrive starts with picking the right plant. Look for a plant with more buds than open flowers; it will last longer, and the repotting process will be less traumatic for a plant not yet in full bloom.

Speaking of repotting, it's one of the best things you can do for your mums. After sitting in nursery containers, most mums in containers will have very compacted root balls. Gently breaking up the root ball and giving the mum a new home in some fresh potting soil will set your plant up for success.

Related: The 13 Best Potting Soils for Indoor and Outdoor Plants

And don't forget the water. Chrysanthemums love full sun, and all that heat means they also need plenty of water. Give them a good soak after repotting, then water every other day or whenever the soil seems dry. Try to avoid allowing your plants to wilt. They'll revive well after watering again, but the flower buds may not last as long or look as bright.

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How Should I Use Mums in My Garden?

Because of their tight, mounded habit and profusion of blooms, garden mums are perfect for mass plantings. To get the maximum effect from far away, stick to only one or two colors. Another possibility is to arrange a gradual transition of related colors in an ombre effect. Many landscape plants can provide a backdrop for groupings of mums to help them stand out more. Choose ornamental grasses, berry shrubs, sedum, or any conifer for texture.

Choose orange, bronze, yellow ($35, Walmart), and creamy white mums if you decorate with pumpkins and gourds for fall. However, if you have a lot of evergreen plants that provide a backdrop of varying shades of green foliage, try bright pinks, lavenders, pure whites, or reds. With such bold colors, a large grouping of mums can add excitement to even the blandest of fall landscapes.

Choose cultivars according to their bloom times to get the most from your mums. It also helps to coordinate bloom time with the length of autumn in your location. Most garden mums will withstand a light fall frost, but finding the best cultivars will let you enjoy them for as long as possible.

When Should Mums Be Planted?

Even though garden mums are perennials, you can treat them as annuals that live only one season. Fall planting lessens the chance of winter survival because roots don't have time to establish themselves enough. If you want something more permanent and are willing to provide proper care such as mulching and pinching to encourage compact growth and more blooms, plant mums in the spring so they have enough time to get established in the garden before winter. This will improve their chances of overwintering and reblooming the following year. Some plants will even produce a few blooms in the spring before being pinched for fall flowers.

How Much Sun and Water Do Mums Need?

Whether in a pot or your garden, mums like lots of light. Mums thrive in full sun conditions as long as you give them enough water. Choose a spot that gets at least six hours of sun a day. Plants that don't get enough sunlight will be tall and leggy and produce fewer, smaller flowers. Just be careful: Light is not the same as heat. Don't put potted mums out too early in the season when summer's temps are still in full swing. Plants likely won't survive well.

Water newly planted mums thoroughly, and never let them wilt. After they're established, give mums about an inch of water per week. When bottom leaves look limp or start to turn brown, water more often. Avoid soaking the foliage, which can lead to disease.

What Type of Soil Do Mums Like?

Mums thrive in well-drained soil. If the soil doesn't drain properly, add compost and mix it into an 8-12 inch depth for best performance. You could also grow mums in raised beds filled with a garden soil mix that drains well. Plant mums about 1 inch deeper than they were in the nursery pot, being careful with the roots as you spread them. Their roots are shallow, so they don't like competition from weeds.

Related: The 8 Best Weeding Tools on Amazon for a Flourishing Garden, Starting at $13

Plants set out in spring should get a 5-10-10 fertilizer once or twice a month until cooler weather sets in. Don't fertilize plants set out in fall as annuals. The plants you hope to overwinter should get high-phosphorus fertilizer to stimulate root growth.

How Do You Winterize Garden Mums?

Prepare mums for winter after the first hard frost. Mulch up to 4 inches with straw or shredded hardwood around the plants. Pinch off dead blooms to clean up the plant, but leave branches intact. Mums have a better chance of surviving if you wait to prune old stems until spring.

Related: 7 Common Mistakes That May Explain Why Your Garden Mums Are Dying

Although garden mums are often called hardy mums, they may not survive the winter if drainage is poor or if you live in a frigid climate. If your mums survive the winter, you'll see new growth developing around the base of the plant in early spring. As soon as the weather warms, pull away mulch to allow new shoots to pop up. The old, dead growth from last year can be clipped away. If nothing develops at the base of the plant, it's a sign that the plant did not survive the winter.

What Is Pinching?

The key to those full, rounded domes of blooms that you associate with mums is pinching to create more branching and keep plants compact. Don't hold back; just a few minutes here and there will reward you with a thick, solid-looking plant. If you bought large, full plants in the fall, they've already been pinched and are ready for planting. Young spring plants will need pinching for maximum bloom and the best plant shape.

Start pinching as soon as you see a good flush of flower buds. To pinch a plant, remove the growing tip of a stem by nipping it between your thumb and forefinger. Next, pinch about half the tender new growth at the top of the shoot; choose a few stems with buds and some without. Repeat the process with every 3-5 inches of growth (about every 2-4 weeks) until early July. Stopping then ensures you will get good bud formation and blooms in the fall. Each pinched stem will divide into two new ones.

Types of Mums

Think again if you think mums are limited to the candy-colored mounded plants often sold in front of grocery stores. There are dozens of gorgeous varieties of chrysanthemums, each with its unique beauty. Here are a few mum types that would look great in any showy front yard display.

Decorative Mums

Also known as florist mums, these chrysanthemums have long, tightly overlapping petals. They can be either incurve (where petals curve up and in toward the flower center) or reflex (where petals curve out and down, away from the flower center). Some of the most common decorative varieties are 'Coral Charm,' with bright purple, pink, and peach petals, and 'Fireflash,' with fiery orange- and yellow-colored petals.

Pom Pom Mums

These fluffy mums, also known as button mums, produce masses of small, petal-packed blooms in many colors. Some common varieties of the pom pom chrysanthemum are 'Tinkerbell,' 'Barbara,' 'Patriot,' 'Ruby Mound,' 'Garnet,' and 'West Point.' They all have small, spherical flowers from summer to frost.

Single and Semidouble Mums

You may often mistake single and semidouble mums for daisies because they look so similar. These mums have outer flower petals of one (single) or two to three (semidouble), growing very close together from the center disk. These mums grow a stunning 1 to 3 feet tall, perfect for growing along a garden fence. Some of the most common single and semidouble varieties are 'Single Apricot Korean,' with shades of peach, and 'Crimson Glory,' with shades of deep, crimson red.

Spoon Mums

The name truly fits this type of mum, which sprouts beautiful spoon-shaped petals. These flowers only grow about 4 inches in diameter, making them a petite mum to add to your garden that won't take up too much space. The most popular of the spoon mums is 'Kimie,' which shows off golden yellow petals in a single row around a tight center disk.

Quilled Mums

Quilled mums resemble the single daisy type, only with the tubular petals. This is different from the full quill flower form, which is almost always seen only in florist or decorative mums. Some of the most popular varieties for quilled mums are 'Mammoth Yellow Quill,' spikes of yellow, and 'Seatons Toffee,' with red spikes resembling sparklers on the Fourth of July.

Anemone

Resembling the long petals of 'Spider' and 'Spoon' mums, 'Anemone' has long petals, just flatter than its semi-twin. This mum has one or more rows of single flat petals topped with a raised center of tiny disk florets. The florets are usually a darker color. These cute little flowers only grow about 4 inches in diameter, just like 'Spoon' mums. The most common anemone varieties are 'Dorothy Mechen,' showing off light purple flowers, and 'Adrienne Mechen,' a close cousin sprouting a pink center, trailing into bright white flowers at the tips.

Spider Mums

Spider chrysanthemums look a lot like the quilled and anemone mums. The only difference is in their thin, spider-like petals. Some of the most common spider mums are 'Western Voodoo,' sprouting colors of orange and yellow, 'Yellow Rayonnante,' showing off curvy petals, and 'Seiko Fusui,' containing long, yellow, spider-like petals.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do deer like mums?

Chrysanthemums generally aren't a favorite for deer. But a really hungry deer will eat anything if there aren't other options. Use a deer repellent on mums you want to protect to make it even less likely a deer will munch on your fall flowers.

Do mums need to be divided?

Mums grown as perennials need to be divided every couple of years. Divide perennials in the spring after the last hard frost and after you see new growth starting. Dig up the plant in one piece and separate the outer pieces from the center with a clean and sharp spade or large garden knife. Replant the outer portions into a rejuvenated bed, and discard the original center of the plant.

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