Your Potted Mums Will Keep Coming Back Every Year With These Tricks

Mums, short for chrysanthemums (Chrysanthemum x morifolium), are gorgeous stars of the fall garden. Their wide range of colors and bloom shapes make them a great way to add unique elements to your garden. Mums flower when the daylight hours begin to shorten, but they're not just for autumn. In fact, with proper care, they can come back year after year and bloom from summer all the way through to fall. 

Factors that increase your mums' chances of surviving winter and returning each year include choosing the right varieties, making sure your mums are well established before winter comes, providing your mums with the right soil, and choosing appropriate locations and pots for your mums. There are different types of mum flowers that you can choose from when picking out your plants. 

But not all mums you may see are likely to survive winters and come back every year. Mums listed as "florist" or "pot" mums are generally annuals and unlikely to survive, while those sold as "garden" mums put out runners and are perennials in zones 5 through 9 with the right care. So, making sure you have a shot at a perennial mum starts with picking the right kind.

One of the reasons mums often don't survive the winter is because they tend to be purchased in autumn. Buying your mums in fall doesn't give the plants much time to get established before they have to contend with cold winter temperatures. A better strategy to keep mums alive is to plant your mums in spring. While it may not be easy to find mums in garden centers in spring, plenty of reputable online and specialty retailers offer the plants then. These retailers often have a wider selection than what you might find in garden centers, as well. 

Mums hate wet and soggy soil. If you're growing them in a container, that means you need to make sure to use a potting medium (never garden soil or topsoil) that is well draining. If you're transplanting your garden mum from pots into the ground, make sure your soil drains well, and amend it if necessary. Don't forget to mulch around your mums, which may help protect it from cold weather temperatures.

When finding the perfect spot for your mums, it's not just soil you need to think about, you also need to consider lighting conditions. Mums grow best in full sunlight, meaning they need at least six hours of sun each day. There's also another lighting factor besides sunshine you need to consider with mums. Because mums' flowers are triggered by longer nights and shorter days, they need darkness at night to bloom well. it's important not to plant them too close to street lights or other outdoor lights that are on during the night. This can lead to few — if any — flowers.

If you want to grow your mums in planters or containers year round, you also need to consider the size and type of planters to use. Container plants are far more likely to survive the winter if they are grown in large planters. Wood and concrete are ideal as they are less likely to crack during winter freezes. You should also keep in mind that container plants are often two zones less hardy when overwintering. So while mums are generally hardy down to zone 5, they may only be hardy down to zone 7 in their respective pots and planters. If necessary, consider moving your potted mums to a garage, porch, or other protected space during winter months.