Keeping Potted Chrysanthemums Looking Good

6 years ago

I'm trying chrysanthemums again this autumn - reluctantly. I seem to be the kiss of death to these....all over the neighborhoods where I live, I see them every fall - both in pots and in the ground. No matter how I keep them outside, within a couple of weeks they're starting to turn yucky looking, while everyone else's look fresh right up into mid-November. Not mine, though....I water them every couple of days. Too much? Not enough? Any suggestions? Thanks!

Featured Answer

Sayyidi Abdol Ali

last year

I just seed them in the ground and let them do their own thing

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Comments (6)

ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
6 years ago
last modified: 6 years ago
where are you??? .. with a little more specificity than VA ....

water when a plant needs water ... insert finger or lift pot.. and FIND OUT ...

one trick.. is to buy mums.. that have only one single flower open ... so you can see the color .... buying a plant at its prime.. means it will begin to decline almost immediately ...

have you tried deadheading ...???

keep the plants in full shade ... so they stay cooler... perhaps a bit of suspended animation ... the hotter they are.. the faster the flowers fade ...

get them planted as soon as the flowers are spent ...

many foo foo ones.. may not be winter proof.. where you are ... i used to collect cuttings from local friends.. to collect plants that i knew would winter over in my MI ...

more info.. will get you better answers ...

ken
gardengal48 (PNW Z8/9)
6 years ago
The suggestions about the amount of pending buds and testing to know when to water are good. Keeping in full shade is not a great idea :-) They need at least 4 hours of sun daily to bloom well....and if in a hotter location, that can be morning sun and afternoon shade. But the buds will not open well in full shade and the flower impact will be greatly reduced. My entry is in full shade and mums there do not last long and fail to bloom fully while those in sunnier locations last for weeks.

And in the OP's zone 7, pretty much any mum will be winter hardy.
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ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
6 years ago
i cant see z7 .... next to her name ...

i meant shade in the sense of keeping the roots/pot cool ... in other words.. out of mid day sun/heat ...

i did not mean an old stone grotto facing north .. lol ...

is all of VA z7? .. who knew ...

ken

https://hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/cropmap/virginia/maps/VAhardy.jpg
gardengal48 (PNW Z8/9)
6 years ago
The 7 shows up for me........ and "shade in the sense of keeping the roots/pot cool ... in other words.. out of mid day sun/heat" was not what you said initially. "full shade" generally denotes no direct sun. And whether or not even partial midday shade is necessary would depend on local temperatures. Typically, temps have cooled enough at this time of year that even full-on, all day sun should not be an issue.
emmi331
Original Author
6 years ago
Thank you, Ken, for your advice, although I'm too damned old to be scolded for anything, much less for not posting up to your standards.

Thank you, gardengal, for your gracious response. And for noticing my zone without wagging a cyber finger in my face