Ah, the ubiquitous mum

China is where they are originally from

Many gardeners think they are nice,

on sale now - either two for one or half the price

I see them on shelves and at the entries of stores,

Fall color for when it gets chilly outdoors

It is always good to see them at the end of the season

they last a long time, at least within reason

The chrysanthemum has been celebrated - held in high esteem

but I don't grow them here, they aren't in my garden scheme.

There are some fascinating forms of mums available but the public is only offered the "cushion mum" in the autumn because large numbers of them can be loaded onto shelves in a delivery truck. The best way to grow mums (and to have a wider selection) is to start with a young plant in the spring and get it established growing in your garden conditions. They tend to be more perennial if planted out in the garden as a young vegetative plant.

Bluestone Perennials has a good selection of mums https://www.bluestoneperennials.com/mums/?gclid=Cj0KCQjw06-oBhC6ARIsAGuzdw306ZsqPrShPmYu6Ssrk4mLTItLjnFg-m8gNn1LG5s4LqJAcJAtyV0aAs7VEALw_wcB

Nice!

Rouge, pretty! It's a single? So good for pollinators? How do you leave one in a pot permanently, does it stay out all winter? I didn't think Mums were that hardy.

I normally have a fair amount, but I moved things around last year and not sure how well a display I will have this year. Mine don't look like they are ready to bloom for at least another few weeks. I pinch them back, but I do it early, but they still bloom late. I added a couple of red ones from a local nursery and they are just starting to bloom before all my own Mums. Most of mine I bought at Bluestone and have been happy with them. No photos yet!

Jeb, you're a poet! Lol nice job!

I've pretty much given up on mums. I've tried several times to grow them the"right" way - buying and planting in spring. They just never seem vigorous or hardy and I stopped pinching because that always seemed to be the kiss of death. So I settled for mums in July and August lol.

The funny thing is, years ago (I'm talking like 20 years) I had better luck buying the potted ones in fall and planting those out, and they came back for a few years. Now I don't even bother planting those because they die too lol. So I buy a few pots for the steps and treat them as annuals. Maybe I just don't have the right conditions for them, but I have planted them in several gardens in different yards.

Kind of a shame since I do like them.

:)

Dee

Hello @prairiemoon2 z6b MA. I bring the Chrysanthemum pots into the unheated garage sometime in...November or maybe into early December. (And yes it is attractive to insects.)