I have had mums over-winter for several years....until we had a harsh cold winter with little snowcover. I am not one to mulch so if I had I may very well still have those mums!

Good luck!
Kristy :)

Your mums survival rate will likely be tied to amount of snow cover we get. I have occasionally had mums of the type you're talking about make it a year or two. Usually mums have the best chance of surviving if they are planted in the spring and if you plant Mn hardy mums. Check out Busse Gardens. They carry a good selection.

Hey there Nathan-
I bought some fall planters @ late in the season @ 75% off @ Franks many many years ago and still have the mums and heucheras from those planters going strong! I have to dig up at least half of the mums every late spring to keep them the size I want them where I have them. They want to be at least 36" all around, and work hard to get there! I do not water often enough- and have not mulched these ever- although I leave the leaves lie on them till spring.
I have also purchased "hardy" mums from nurseries that have not survived. Same goes for the really pretty (not hardy) varieties I have tried....
It is a coin toss in my book weather or not most "hardy" mums make it. They do need full sun to thrive- those in most shade barely squeak by every year in my yard. And they should have a bit of time and water to establish roots well in the fall before the winter freeze sets in.
They do compete well in the over crowded beds so don't be afraid to mush them close to each other.
How tall your mums will get is yet to be seen- I have seen some as short as 12"- and some as tall as 4+'!
How long will they bloom? Well- mine get frozen out every year before they are done it seems.
I have well draining sandy soil- and they do seem to like it here. I suspect they may not like cold damp conditions early in the spring, that is why I try to uncover the crowns early in the spring. I suspect that of everything in the garden though...
I do enjoy their usually pest free green foliage in the beds all year- as I do Peonies- but unlike Peonies- you are rewarded in the fall with blooms from those green masses- you are kept in anticipation through the growing season for them. You will find they may bloom @ different times as well. I have 5 fall blooming mums in my yard now- with only 2 in bloom now.
Many folks will tell you to trim them back as they grow up to the 4th of July for full thick blooms in the fall. I found the mums I have really do not need that attention for a great display of blooms. Good thing too! I don't do too well with coddeling my plants....
Here's hoping you have a bunch of winners!
Julie

Thanks everyone for giving me the advice. I really hope that mine do well. I really like their fall color.

I have another question now. [that isnt really mum related but I dont want to start another post].

When I was dividing my lilies yesterday [I have to do all that work before I go to school.] I accidentally broke off the stocks from the bulbs-so I replanted my bulbs, but I noticed however, that the stocks had their own roots. It was a pretty good clump and I was wondering if I were to replant the stock if they would grow again and form a bulb. Any thoughts...?

Thanks again

Julie's right about the hardiness of "Walmart type" mums. It's hit and miss. And just because they might be Minnesota bred, does not speak to their cold hardiness either. Minnyellow, Minnrose, Minnwhite ... these are bred for quick, full and desireable growth: you plant in spring and by fall you have a great blooming plant. But they are not necessarily Minnesota winter hardy. We grew many of these in the early 1980's, in a test plot at the Rosemount Ag Experiment Station, south of St. Paul. There were differences in cold hardiness, but none were reliable.

About the lily qestion, the answer would be no. There may be stem bulblets that could emerge and grow, but no big bulb to replace the one that was severed. FYI, the stalk, and flowers (if it has any) will continue to grow.

BTW- in my experience, you did not hurt the plant any by severing the bulb from the stalk this late in the season. I too have been lifting mine this past week- and habitually chop off the tops as I go. I collect the little bulblets and will plant them in a holding area if I want more of them- or I will pass those on to others. Usually, even the smallest of most lily bulbs will produce a flower in a year or two.

Leftwood, Could you suggest a few reliably hardy mums? I prefer white and yellow and was considering some of the minn mums. Thanks.

I look at the mums that are everywhere now and think how great they'd be for some color. Luckily, my resistance is high because they turn into slug magnets in my experience with them. It's so dry up here and I haven't seen a slug on anything for two seasons now, but if I planted a mum I would lay odds within a week it would be a slime coated skeleton. (Even using Sluggo or Slug-getta.)

A few years ago 'My Favorite Mum' was on the market and touted as being very hardy. They were developed by the U of M and have done well in Z3. Unfortunately they were only offered for sale in the fall and most didn't survive the winter. They were pulled from the market place and then reintroduced as 'Mammoth Mums' by Monrovia, but still are only reliable if spring planted. They come in many colors but coral and white are the only I've tried and they've been with me a couple of years.

Neil Anderson, who worked on the development, mentioned in a talk that one indication of hardiness is if the mum develops basal shoots in the fall that will then grow next year.

On a different tact, 'Clara Curtis' is a very old cultivar that does well in all the gardens I know. It is single and pale pink. It blooms in August, a little early in the mum season.

Ted

Hi-
I'm new here and have a MUM question...I bought some hardy Mums in August (I think)...after a short while, I thought they were dead, but noticed the other day there is quite a bit of new growth. I brought them in today (since it's been pretty cold out the past several nights)...today, I pulled off the dead stuff. There is a lot of greenery and flowers on them right now. I was thinking about leaving them inside thru the winter to help them grow, then plant them in the spring-any thoughts? Any advice will be welcomed, since I usually tend to kill anything I try to grow--that is why the new stuff was really exciting to see! Thanks-in advace!!

Hi cbm2940.

I'm no expert, but generally I think hardy means in the ground. I don't think your plants will survive the Winter in pots above ground. I bought some MN Hardy Mums last summer and planted them in the yard with maybe an inch of mulch over the Winter. Three of the four came back nicely this year.

Someone else will have to tell you if it is worth going out to dig a hole in this cold to get it planted at this late date.

There is a grower in Minnesota that sells alot of hardy mums and will sell to individuals also. I believe they supply all the major nurseries around.

I have had very good results from their mums each year and would recommend Faribault Mums for hardy garden mums. Very reasonable and with regular pinching until July 4 they will be a good size bush by the fall.
Lynn

Here is a link that might be useful: Faribault Mums

I've been pretty lucky with mums for the past several years. I've planted them in the fall but with enough time for them to get situated before winter hits. I don't know if they would make it if planted in November. I've only lost a few to cold winters with no snow cover. I only cover them with oak & maple leaves from my yard. In the spring I also propogate by stem cuttings successfully. They're a great plant, especially to help bring more color in late fall. I'm planning next spring to move my yellow mum next to my purple New England aster for a MN Viking show:)

I take cuttings of my mums in the fall and grow them on over the winter months. In spring I plant them out which allows me to have many more mums and allows me to be sure I don't lose them over a bad winter.

I read the Mum thread and looks like it answered my question! I have a potted Mum in the house all winter, lush green healthy leaves, now it is spring and I want to plant it in my yard for the fall, and it may do ok if we have another less than average snow here in Nebraska again come winter.

Well, I planted the Mum that was in a pot in the house all winter and it is now outside in the ground, hope all goes well, but you never know until you try. My sister is always talking about she takes cuttings and ends up with more quite easily.

Did you harden your inside mum off before planting outside? If not, you may need to cover it on sunny days to keep it from burning. And cover it if the temps drop below freezing. I expect it will grow well and bloom this fall. Those that I have gotten that were decorative pot mums usually survive for several years before disappearing. Last fall I put two pot mums in the ground, pot and all, and mulched them well. Will lift them and replant this spring.