Today we are sharing the easiest guide for potted mums to make sure your plants stay beautiful all season!
I live in Texas, so many times September and October are very warm. Mums can struggle to stay alive even a few weeks. These tips have helped mine stay healthy all season.
The Easiest Guide for Potted Mums
This is an old post we have UPDATED to have the best, most thorough and updated information for you. We are also adding in an FAQ section from readers.
Mum’s are the quintessential fall flower in my opinion. Not only are they full of beautiful autumn tones, but they grow perfect this time of year too! I participated in a weekly fall mum sale while I was taking horticulture in college and they always sold out each week. We grew all types and colors that people absolutely adored.
I know people who cannot grow mum’s to save their lives, and I know others who can grow them to perfection. I always have great luck with them, so I am sharing my tips to help you have pretty fall mums this season!
Many of these posts you read about mum care are a little technical in my opinion. Below are the easy ways to make sure you keep the plant thriving during the autumn months.
At the end, we also have a tip to take it inside during the winter if you want to try keeping it past this season.
Step 1: Always soak in water then repot into a larger pot with proper drainage.
The biggest problem with mums is their susceptibility to root rot, but they also root bound in the pots and dry. First, always take your mum out of the original pot and soak in a bucket of water for 30 minutes. This makes sure the roots get out and get a good soaking.
Next, you need to repot into something larger. I have had more mums die from that over anything else. Rule of thumb, choose a pot that is at least a couple of inches wider in diameter.
Also, drainage is key with mums…make sure to add some rocks, pebbles or wood chips to the first few inches of your pot. Just like when I showed you this tutorial on How to Pot a Hibiscus Step by Step!
Step 2: Put in a place with the right amount of sun.
Mum’s love sun, but they need just the right amount to flourish. Mine do best in about 4 hours of direct light. In Texas, it is still hot and will be for awhile, so I keep it in morning light. If your area has already cooled down, it can be afternoon light as well.
Step 3: Water it just right.
Mums are the type of plant that needs water, but it is very easy to over water them. At the same time, the soil cannot get dry, or it will wilt the plant almost immediately. A happy medium is to lightly water soil almost everyday, keeping it damp, but not saturated. I always stick my finger down in the soil to feel if it is dry.
Step 4: Deadhead
I have mentioned deadheading before. If you are new to gardening, this basically means removing dead blooms. I like to pinch them off the minute they wilt. This helps the plant not use vital nutrients on a dead bloom. It will also promote new growth!
I always remove just below the bloom.
And that is it! The yellow orange mum you see in the pictures I have had for a few years and it keeps coming back in the same pot.
How to Take Care of Mums Indoors
The easiest way to keep your potted mum alive is to keep it in the pot and bring inside during the winter months! If you decide to keep your mum longer than just this fall season, you can definitely try bringing it inside.
Tip for winter: You can bring these inside like you would other potted plants, but just make sure not to over water and keep them in the sunlight. I have kept mine outside even during the freezing weather and it just goes dormant, but to play it safe, definitely bring it inside.
This guide from SFGate says mums should be kept between 32 and 50 degrees Fahrenheit when brought inside. This means a garage or basement is the perfect spot to winter them.
Hopefully this will help you grow chrysanthemums in pots successfully. It has helped me over the years keep mine alive the entire fall season and even into winter.
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I need mums to replace the summer flowers now it is cooler and they are available!!
Thanks for stopping by #OMHGWW
Thanks Karren! I am so excited they are finally out!
Buying mums is on my to do list for this coming weekend. Sadly, I’ve never been able to keep mine longer than a year but I do keep trying!!
Mine always last a few years as long as I water them thoroughly before winter! I am hoping to keep mine going longer this go round 🙂
Make sure you’re choosing a hardy mum now called a garden mum. Water and mulch up to plant. Don’t pull up or trim dormant dead mum just trim off dead in spring after frost done. You’ll see green come back before you know it. -Michigan
First this made me think of my sister Sue because I read the title wrong and thought it said potty mums as in a little crazy and that is Sue, then when I realised my mistake I thought of my mum who likes her pot plants
Too funny!
They sure are pretty!
They definitely are! I love them 🙂
We love mums, thank you for the helpful hints! Pinning this to our Casserole Gals Autumn Pinterest Board!
Thank you! Mums are so perfect for fall 🙂
Fall mums are so pretty but I haven’t had much luck with them myself. Maybe with these tips and a bit more consistancy 😉 Thanks for sharing with us at the #HomeMattersParty link party.
I hope these tips can help you, they really keep min looking pretty this time of year! Have a great weekend!
I live in New York and am constantly killing mine! Any tips for keeping my mums alive and looking good until Thanksgiving? #SITSBlogging
In cooler areas, it is very easy to over water mums. I would always check the soil and when it is dry, lightly water. I have found that is the number one reason they die. Also, make sure it gets good sunlight since the days are shorter. Feel free to email me with any questions!
How sweet- thank you!!
Alexis, your mums are gorgeous! I agree about the deadheading. It makes such a difference. Wonderful post full of good advice. Love, Mimi xxx
Thank you so much Mimi! It does make a huge difference! 🙂
Thank you for the great tips! I already had 2 pots of mums die-because I left them in their original pots. Won’t do that again 🙂
Thank you! I hope you can prolong the life of your mums with some of these tips! 🙂
Thanks for the mum ideas. I had some by my pool. Now I know what I did wrong. Will try again.
Thank you Debbie! I hope you have some better luck 🙂 Have a wonderful day!
I love Mums! They are easy for me to grow. I usually plant mine and they tend to come back every year, at least for a few years. There’s one side of our home in NC that they particularly like. 🙂
That is awesome Anne! I would love to grow them in the ground. Between the Texas heat and the Texas ice…they don’t too well after a few years lol. But they are really beautiful!
Thanks for all the care tips for mums. Very helpful.
Thank you Bonnie!
Oh MY! Your mums are beautfiul! I am so excited to know that you have had horticulture in your background! I can see one thing for sure I need to do and that is put a few holes in the bottom of the wheelbarrow. Even though it is old still not enough drainge I am sure! Love your posts and your site! Keep up the great work, Lynn
Thanks Lynn! I hope that works for you. Thanks so much for your sweet words too 🙂 Have a great day!
Is it better to plant Mums in the ground, or keep them in pots?
I have much better luck with mine in pots so I can move them inside during hard winters and we have really bad summers here. It definitely depends on where you live, but they really do great in pots!
Good morning, Alexis,
I know nothing about plants and have killed every one I have ever had with too much water or too little. I don’t seem to get the line between moist and wet. But I am tempted to try a pot of mums.
I live in Tampa, FL so I will have to protect it from the rains while it is outside. And when I bring it in, I’m concerned about light. I live in an old shady area with only one adequately lit window and it is on the south side. Will I need to elevate the plant to the height of the window? Will the plant be dormant in the winter? How often will it need to be repotted?
It will go dormant in the winter if left outside, but it probably won’t inside. Mums do need sun, so I would make sure it gets a few hours each day. I usually don’t repot my mums unless they are busting out of the pot 🙂
Hi Alexis !
I grew up in Bristol CT, which in addition to being famous for clocks, was also the mum capital of the USA. We dug up our own mums from a nursery that had many thousands of them planted every fall. You can see pics online. They were put in the ground, and even with severe winters, still came back in the spring. I cut them back after the flowers were gone in late autumn. In the spring, when they started growing again, We cut them back until the 4th of July. After that, they were allowed to keep growing and get ‘fat and fluffy’ and produced loads of blooms till the first killing frost. Correct, they don’t like intense heat. So glad you shared this article of my very favorite flower.
I bet the mums are beautiful up there! Especially in your climate. They are such a beautiful and happy flower for autumn 🙂
Great info! I did not expect to have to repot them. Can’t due to the size of the planter I have – can I split them to make them smaller to fit and give them space? Also, if you take them out of the pot and put in water for 30 min doesn’t all the soil disappear, so do you keep them in the pot to soak them? Thanks for your help!
The soil they are packed in does not disappear when you soak it. Mine are always packed tight with potting matter so it just loosens everything a little. If yours aren’t packed that tight, I would still soak them and then put them in a new pot with potting soil. I have never split mine, but I have seen my mom do it many times! She always has success.