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Tips for Keeping Potted Mums Looking Great

Last Updated on by 57 Comments

Have you ever purchased a chrysanthemum (better known as mum) to decorate for fall, just because they’re beautiful, they scream fall to you and you couldn’t resist, just to get it home and have it looking pathetic in a couple of weeks? I’m cheap and that just feels like money down the drain to me. Join me as I share my Tips for Keeping Potted Mums Looking Great and getting the biggest bang for your buck.

Tips for Keeping Potted Mums Looking Great – When to Buy

First of all, let’s go shopping. Now this is the first rule of thumb in keeping potted mums looking great – don’t buy your mums too early. I know you folks are from all over the country, so it’s important to know when too early is. Look at an extended weather forecast.  Mums really like temps in the 60s.  Here in Minnesota – Zone 4b and it’s best to wait until mid to late September or early October before purchasing mums.

So this year, I’m totally guilty of breaking my first rule. I purchased my mums about a week and a half ago, when the weather was nice and cool, and I was feeling all cozy and ready for fall.  Now this week, we have had several days in the mid to upper 80’s and my mums little buds are popping like crazy.

How to Shop for Potted Mums

Let’s pretend there’s a chill in the air and we have our sweatshirts on, and get this shopping trip under way. When I walk up to a gardening center and see this, it’s pure sensory overload! BUT, wait we don’t want to buy these mums.

Tips For Keeping Mums Looking Great - Mums at Gertens

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Some super cute fall decor items to go along with your potted mums:

And, some more beauties, but we don’t want to buy these either.

Tips For Keeping Mums Looking Great - Mums at Lowes

These are gorgeous, but they won’t be coming home with me.

Tips for Keeping Potted Mums Looking Great

So here’s my BEST tip for keeping mums looking great – pick out mums that have tight closed buds, like this next picture. I realize it’s not instant gratification, but in the long run it will be a better purchase. Now, these are the mums we want to buy.

Tips For Keeping Mums Looking Great - Mums with closed buds

Here’s a Pin to save to one of your Favorite Gardening Boards or Fall Boards on Pinterest:

How to Care for Potted Mums So They Last

My number three tip for keeping mums looking great is to make sure they have sufficient water. All the tips are important, but this one is probably the most important. Mums like to be moist, so don’t let them dry out. Once you have your mums home, immediately check to see if they are moist, if not, give them a drink. Also, grab a saucer that you have laying around or an old plate and put that under the pot. These are the ones I use and they work perfect. The saucer will catch the water run off and help to keep the plant moist at the bottom where the roots will drink it up.

Even if you’re going to plop the pot into a more attractive container, put a saucer under it. Another good watering tip is to water at the base of the plant, closest to the roots, very slowly. If it rains or if you notice there’s still water in the saucer the next day, dump it out so the mum doesn’t get to much water. Just make sure you feel the soil and make sure it’s moist every day.

Potted mum with purple fountain grass.

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Tips for Keeping Potted Mums Looking Great – Deadhead

Here’s my fourth tip for keeping mums looking great. As your mum continues to bloom, pinch off the blooms that are spent or fading and turning brown. For you non-gardeners, that’s called deadheading.

Tips For Keeping Mums Looking Great - Mum in full bloom.
In closing, just a few more tips for keeping your mums looking great. If the weather forecast shows lots of sun and the temps moving to the upper 70s, consider moving your mums to a more shady spot.

I found out last year that the mums that I repotted and added in some fresh potting mix lasted much longer than the ones that were not repotted. This year I will take that extra step and repot all the mums that I purchase. Try it and see what you think. 

Tips For Keeping Potted Mums Looking Great

When following all these tips for keeping potted mums looking great, I’ve had mums last for 6 weeks or more. Do you have any other tips that you practice other than the ones I’ve listed? Please leave a comment below and let me know, I’d love to hear from you!

Here are some other Fall Gardening posts you’ll enjoy:

Tips on Transitioning Container Gardens to Fall
Fall Outdoor Decor Ideas
Fall Gardening – Thinking Ahead to Next Spring
Planting Bulbs in the Fall For Amazing Spring Flowers
Fall Porch Decor

Thanks so much for stopping by Gingham Gardens today. I so appreciate your visits and your kind comments. Feel free to hang out for awhile and check out a few of my fun Fall Gardening posts.

Happy gardening for a little while longer,
Joanna

p.s. Please help me out by pinning these pictures. Simply hover in the upper left-hand corner and click the “pin” icon. There are some more pins at the bottom of the page. Thanks!!!!

p.p.s. Follow Gingham Gardens on Pinterest for lots of great gardening ideas and tons of gardener’s eye candy.

A few more fun Fall Decor items from Amazon:

Pins to share:

5 Tips to Keep Potted Mums Looking Great

 

Potted Mums - Tips on Buying and Caring for Potted Mums in the Fall

 

Tips for Keeping Potted Mums Looking Great

 

Comments

  1. Cathy says

    If you plant them they will come back. I usually get a few blooms in the Spring. Cut they back on the 4th of July and they will mound better. When they get too big–they do spread–split them just like you split hosts a in the Spring. Mine look lovely along my driveway in the Fall and give me something green along there in the Spring and summer.

    Reply

    • Joanna says

      Hi Cathy – thanks for stopping by and taking the time to comment. It depends what gardening zone you are in and whether or not you purchased “hardy” mums for your area. I agree that perennial mums are lovely and very prolific as you have described. In my area, one has to look pretty hard to find perennial mums, but the annual varieties are every where. Happy fall, Joanna

      Reply

  5. MARIBETH says

    I love fall. My favorite time of the year
    God does know what He is doing He made me an October baby. FALL IS A GREAT CELEBRATION TIME FOR ME AND i love mums. Oh my gosh
    I am getting some tomorrow after church. I can’t wait
    But yes mine die in a week or so
    Thank you so, so much for these tips. Does it matter how long in sun or shade if the temperature is right? Thank you and God bless you for sharing your expertise, Maribeth

    Reply

    • Joanna says

      Hi Maribeth, I’m so glad you stopped by! My daughter is an October baby too! Yes, Fall is a wonderful season. Mums do like the sun as long as it isn’t too hot. Good luck, happy birthday and have an awesome Fall enjoying God’s beautiful creation.

      Reply

  6. Dorene Harter says

    a little advice on buying MUMS….if want to keep for the next year planted in garden not get annuals (annuals only live this one year)

    Reply

    • Joanna says

      So true, Dorene. In my area it’s a bit difficult to find perennial mums. Most of the mums for sale are the annual ones. Thanks so much for stopping by and taking the time to comment.

      Reply

  7. Linda L. Nehls says

    I ask the garden centers if their mum’s are perennial to our zone 4. I’m surprised by how many aren’t. I love them because honey bees love them ,🤗

    Reply

    • Joanna says

      Hi Linda, you are right it is difficult to find hardy mums. I’m not sure where you are located, but I was able to pick one up at a local nursery called Bachman’s. They had about a dozen. 🤷‍♀️

      Reply

    • Joanna says

      Thanks for stopping by, Pam. It was in the 90s here for several days. Now we’re getting much needed rain and the temps are cooling down.

      Reply

  10. Bonnie morgan says

    Great tips, Joanna. But like you I broke the rules I usually follow last week. Even if you buy tight buds in my area you need two sets of mums to last. It has been 96 here the last week.

    Usually, the stores drag getting them in because they realize keeping them are hard. I am in zone 8.

    Reply

    • Joanna says

      Hi Bonnie, I find it very difficult not to buy mums right after Labor Day. Last week I found some quart-sized mums for $1.25. I couldn’t resist. The lady several days temps have been in the upper 80s into lower 90s. That’s too hot for me. Good luck and happy gardening!

      Reply

    • Joanna says

      Hi Cherryl, thanks for stopping by. Mums are one of the few flowers that will take a frost and that’s why they make such great fall flowers. Plus, they are sooo pretty. Just pick up a few and give them a try again and don’t forget to water. Good luck!

      Reply

  13. Debbie-Dabble says

    Beautiful!! I have not bought my Mums yet but will be doing so soon. Thanks so much for stopping by!!
    Hugs,
    Debbie

    Reply

  15. Loni says

    Thank you so much for these great tips on picking mums! I would love to have some by my front door, although sadly it gets no sunlight there and I doubt it will cool off enough to go out and buy mums anytime soon. But I loved looking at your pictures, they’re such pretty flowers!

    Reply

  16. Liz @ Home and Gardening With Liz says

    Good advice. That’s exactly how I buy mine and I bought mine 2 weeks ago. Good thing too is that mums do bloom a long time so they really seem like a good investment. I like setting them in different containers for a fun seasonal look. The rain has finally stopped and it’s only going to be around 65 today! Loveing it!

    Reply

  18. Jann Olson says

    Yup, you know your stuff girl! I’m always telling my friends not to buy the ones in full bloom. I just pinched some of my spent blooms off of my mums today. I’ve had them for a few weeks. Thanks for sharing your tips with SYC.
    hugs,
    Jann

    Reply

  19. FLORENCE @ VintageSouthernPicks says

    Oh, I’m so glad to have these tips about Mums! I really haven’t known that much about them, even though they’re here in Garden Centers every year. I live in Alabama, where it is hot and humid and in the 90’s even now. I didn’t know mums liked 60 degree weather, or don’t like direct sun, or to be moist, although I do try to deadhead. I’m going to be doing as you suggest from now on b/c yes, I confess, we bought one the other day. I’ve planted them in the ground before too, b/c I hate for the money I spent on it to end up on the curb like I see so many do, but they really get much too leggy, even though I pinch them off. Cheapskate me, usually doesn’t buy them at all, but I succumbed this year.

    Reply

  20. AnnMarie says

    These are great tips! I think you get what you pay for too. I bought a gorgeous $3 mum that lasted a week. My $6 mums are still going strong!

    Reply

  21. Cecilia says

    That’s such good advice about not buying mums too early. Here in Texas it will be late October before we might hope to see the sixties, but the stores get mums much earlier. I’ve learned the hard way to wait! Thanks for sharing at Vintage Charm!

    Reply

  22. Carol says

    I live in the AZ desert and have had very good luck with mums. We (meaning my hubby) built some raised beds around some trees in our front yard a couple of years ago. He added some very rich top soil with fertilizer and also added auto-irrigation. Early last Fall, we planted several of the 4″ pots of mums that absolutely exploded in size and retained their beauty until late June when the flowers turned dark, but the plants stayed green for awhile longer. I’m not very good about gardening when it’s 115 degrees, so the plants stayed that way until recently. I started trimming the mums way down to the ground where there is new growth coming in like crazy. I think your tips are great, but I think you also have to learn what works in your part of the country….experiment a little bit.

    Reply

  23. Michelle Leslie says

    Of all the flowers out there, chrysanthemums are probably my favorite Joanna. We’re very lucky here in South Africa. They’re one of those perennials that keep on giving and growing. They just survive on their own with a little bit off feeding and a dash of fertilizer for love. We cut ours down quiet a lot after they’ve flowered and they’ve become these gorgeous lush bushes of happy colors. Next time I go to the nursery I’ll keep your tip about looking for tight buds in mind. Sometimes I’m too impatient to see the flower

    Reply

  24. Lauren says

    SUCH great tips and none of these were ones I knew about — probably why ALL of the mums I buy . . . die a quick death. I have not bought any yet but I will definitely think about getting them later in the season and following your tips!

    Reply

  27. Liz says

    Good tips. I pick out the mums with them beingmo mostly closed too. I enjoy all the different colors that are offered- so much fun! I’ve got two plantersin front of my garage that I always replant with mums. We’ve been war here but I hear a cold snap is coming in this week.

    Reply

  29. Joe Koller says

    Thank you for these tips.. II’ve had some luck saving mums by leaving them in the pots & storing them over winter. I stored them under an overhang against a south facing wall . I live zone 7 and this worked for me . I watered them very lightly 2 or 3 times until spring when I planted them in the ground.. One yellow one is in a small laundry tub & has been reblooming for five seasons.

    Reply

    • Joanna says

      I would love to be able to do that. I do have a few mums in the ground that are hardy in my zone 4. Thanks for stopping by.

      Reply

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