buy ones that are winter hardy in zone5???

many.. many of the mums.. grown in mass production.. hothouse mums... sold late in the year .. are simply not z5 hardy ...

so if you want to start collecting hardy ones.. you are going to have to do the research ... and pay for them ... rather than the local bargain ones ...

they are a perennial .. and i THINK there was a similar post over in that forum a few weeks back ... there is a hardy brand ...

ken

You're not the only one confounded by mums.

similar discussion.

igloo mums.... check out the link

ken

Here is a link that might be useful: link

I will try to find out where I can buy the Igloo mums for next spring. The five that I had purchased were kept in containers this year. They were not super market mums but were purchased from Bluestone Perennials in Ohio. Thanks for all the comments -Barb

another thought...

as i recall.. mums are rather shallow rooted ...

in z5 ... that type of plant needs to be heavily mulched in late fall.. to insure that the soil.. and therefore the roots.. do not go in and out of dormancy repeatedly ... during a winter where there is little or no snow cover ... not that heavy directly on top.. but a nice large area surrounding the plant ... depends what your mulch is ...

get them dormant.. and keep them dormant.. and your success rate may increase..

ken

I have five mums of different colors that are in small containers. If I bring them into my garage that is heated. would that help if I watered them through the winter, or do you think they are done for. Got them from Bluestone. Thanks, friends. Barb

Barb--I live in 5b and my mums are in the ground and came back. Since you have 5 mums why not try 2 ways of overwintering. Good luck, My feeling is they don't want the mums to survive. Paula