Mums do need to be divided regularly or they seem to lose their vigor.

They are pretty easy to root from cuttings taken in the spring - a good way to increase your stock.

If I can find small pots in the spring, these seem to overwinter better than big plants purchased in the fall.

Also, I think the less root-bound the plant is when planted, the better it overwinters. Sometimes the smaller pots aren't as rootbound.

For those of us in the north, it is also important to select extra-hardy varieties, and varieties that are not 'late' bloomers for maximum success. This is probably not an issue for you.

Beth
Z5 northern Michigan

Sometimes I repot the rootbound ones in larger pots (and good soil) and just keep them in the unheated garage over the winter. If I see any signs of new basal growth, I know it is a candidate for coming back well.

I'll never forget one time, I had just scored some on sale mums in 6" pots that still had good blooms. I came home after dark and it was expected to rain or snow for the next couple of days, I forget exactly. But I grabbed a flashlight and stuck them in the ground haphazardly at night. Didn't do anything to them and the next spring they were re-growing great! They have been moved and divided several times and are the most prolific "comeback" mums I have!

I just scored this one today that really has me excited. This was in the perennial section and I paid perennial prices. It better come back! I love it!

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Oh 'wendyb' that mum is glorious! Can one tell by the leaf shape if it is a perennial or not? Seems some have just a little different leaf shape that I have seen but not sure if it significant or not. Do you dip the cuttings in a root stimulent powder & then plant them? The nice green cuttings I have when I prune them in early summer seem too alive to just toss so I do try & root them too with some success. I notice that a lot of my mums start to flower in summer... should I cut the buds back or will they flower again in the Fall?

Guess I will try to divide & replant some of the older ones that seem to have lost their vigor after a few years.

If I accidentally break a branch or two in the spring/early summer , I just put them in a bottle of water; it is extremely rare that they will not make roots. I had some very late blooming cultivars which were very hardy for me. The problem was that they opened their flowers before the frost each fourth or fifth year, so they went to the compost pile. I recall one of them was Nebelrose(= Emperor of China)

Buying a potted mum at the end of summer or in fall that is loaded with flowers and has no evident basal growth means you are probably buying an annual that will die over the winter. That's the way it usually works here, at any rate.

I am concentrating now on either buying small plants in spring of known hardy varieties, or relying on proven perennials like "Venus", "Mei-kyo" and the like.

Right now I have a pink one ("Clara Curtis"?) which has grown to nearly 7 by 4 feet and just exploded into flower in the past week. I can count on it returning every year.

I also have Korean-type daisy-flowered mums from seed planted in late winter that have flowered this fall and which are usually pretty reliable.

I have 'Clara Curtis' too and also 'Mary Stoker'. They seem to be a different species. They both spread quite a bit and have a different habit than the typical ubiquitous "hardy mums".

This one does have new basal growth. It was sold in a perennial 1/2 gallon pot and has a large printed plant tag just like many large nursery perennials. Cultivar is 'Matchstick'. It was not groomed (pruned and overfed all summer) like other "hardy mums". If they re-packaged a regular "hardy mum" to give it the look and feel of a perennial, I am going to be really aggravated!!

I will be planting it tomorrow so I may be able to tell more from the root ball.

I planted at very small "Matchstick" in June. I pinched it back and it grew to about 2 feet tall. It did bloom but did flop (too much). I am confident it will survive the winter and I may pinch it shorter or even twice next year.

rouge21, by all means pinch twice or thrice. I lose count, I pinch so much on some of them - LOL. Mid-July is probably the cutoff date (zone 5) for pinching. A little later is still do-able, but bloomtime will be later -- which can be a good thing too.

Let us know if your Matchstick comes back in the spring. I just planted mine and I think the rootball looked great. Not a typical roadside 'hardy mum' rootball at all. It had the rootball of a well grown nursery perennial -- not too much, not too little. Up close I could even see the crown spreading wider.

I bought this mum four years ago. All yellow.

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Each year since I have one branch of bronze.

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This year the end of June I "pinched" the ends. I stuck them into rootone and planted eight of them next to mama. We had lots of rain this year. Six of them rooted. I even have two bronze.

I have five colors growing in the last several years. This is this years prize. This car gets good gas mileage. I bought it at a yard sale eight years ago for $2.00.

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Don