planting forced Mums

Do any of you in my zone plant up the potted mums one can buy in the stores in the fall. I have quite a few bought to dress up the garden because I have never had great success with mums, even Mordens and of course I have no idea what these are but wonder if I should go to the trouble of planting them. I have small and medium sizes and a couple of big pots which actually look to have 4 plants in each.
I was thinking to maybe plant them in one of the raised veggie beds to see how they do and if they survive I could move them in the spring.

Carol
I have never had much luck. If they come back I can never get them to flower again.
I have a few too that would be great to have come back. Maybe someone out there has the magic formula.
Ann

That's is what I figured Ann!

Generally I read that plants that have been forced into bloom like that dont rebloom when planted out.

Still I might try it unless somebody has some other advice.

Even in my zone, they won't generally make it through the winter. I look on them as cheap colour in the fall - bought 4 for about $10 total at Rona a week or so ago. The ones that I buy as small plants in the spring will sometimes overwinter, but not usually.

Ann

To get that sort of mounded growth, you need to:

-plant them in the ground for winter, then in the spring, repot them into a not too big pot, so they don't spend all their time growing roots,
-pinch the tips back regularly,
-water them almost every day with water with just a pinch of fertiliser in it.

Chrysanthemums are "heavy feeders" - but seem to respond much better to regular feedings with a very dilute fertiliser, such as the tiny amount in daily waterings, rather than a once a week routine.

Greenhouses grow them to that amazing size usually with drip feeding - where they are getting a drop of fertilised water every minute or so - it's continuous.

Sounds like more work than I want to deal with!

I've reached the age where I may start out with great plans, but just can't sustain the work required to achieve them!

I did it one year, just to see if I could, and they were nice, but not anywhere as full as the greenhouse ones. But they were a lot shorter and bushier and with more blooms than my unfiddled-with ones.

Im the same Zeus!

I might plant out the smallest ones in the veggie garden beds to see what happens but I wont bother with the big ones.

Gardening should be fun, not work. Or at least not hard work, eh?

I do pinch back but no feeding. "Heavey feeders". Why oh why do I keeping finding MORE things to do .....And remember.......

Thanks for this info 2zeus. Maybe composted manure will do the trick.

Think I'd put them into your veggie beds over the winter Carol. Just to see what happens.

inanda aka Ginny

When I first started buying Mums, I sort of thought they'd be like Asters, which thrive on neglect, and bloom magnificently anyway. I found out they were heavy feeders when I went back and asked the lady at the garden centre why they seemed to be looking sadder by the day - it was her very first question - "What are you fertilising them with?"

That is probably the trouble with mine too. I learn new things every day.....
inanda

I planted the store mums a couple of years ago. They came up next spring and grew huge. Too big, so that was their last year.

Not likely to happen here Joan!

Why is that Carol? Too cold do you think.

You are a much warmer zone than we are and probably have a much longer frost free growing season. I for instance cannot grow to bloom some of the low and medium asters. I was given a 'mum' last year ( no idea what it is - looks like a very tall pink daisy to me!) and it is just now starting to flower as are my really tall asters.

A couple of years ago we had an extraordinarily long and warm fall and all my asters bloomed - some I had had for years and never saw them bloom! Most of them are now gone - I couldnt be bothered any longer with taking up that space with a plant that rarely bloomed and was usually covered with red aphids in the fall!

> Gardening should be fun, not work. Or at least not hard work, eh?

I can't weigh in with experience growing in Canada, nor much experience putting florist's mums in the ground. However, I *did* buy mums starts from King's Mums this year. I had the starts inside for a couple weeks in small pots and then finally got them in the ground. They're doing fine planted outside. I think I used a dilute fertilizer on them once when they were still inside simply because I had some onhand. One or two plants lost some lower leaves to yellowing for reasons I don't know, but the rest of the leaves look good and healthy. They have buds but haven't bloomed yet because our daylight hasn't grown short enough yet.

One lesson I've learned is that my wussiness about "hurting" the plants by pinching them back has got to be gotten over. I can see now that I would have gotten for more buds if I'd pinched the plants to force branching. So, anyway, I'm not a very experienced gardener nor a workaholic gardener and I've got mums growing that seem to be doing okay. There's a spectrum between my lazy way and what people who plan on growing show-winning mums do. You can make mums a lot of work or you can let them fend for themselves.

I am not sure if this has been mentioned but I have been able to overwinter the potted ones I buy in the fall for show, by sinking them in the pots on the north facing beds, right up to the top of the pots, but its gotta be on the north side out of the wind and early spring freeze thaw thing that happens. I killed a few really nice ones from my moms funeral by sticking them out in a bed that gets too much sun in winter.

Re pinching to get them to branch and flower, yes, the more you pinch back the more stems with flower buds you get. I use Morbloom after end of July, and nothing else. I am 5b or 5a inbetween.

Well the only place mine can go is in the veggie beds which are pretty open to sun.
Although come to think of it I have a narrow strip along the fence behind the raspberries - it is on the north side of a south fence and there is a garage about 4 feet away on the south so I guess that is pretty protected. There is virtually no sun there and it is the last area to 'defrost' in the spring. But I am in a much lower zone than castlegar.

Hi Fancyvan- I have also kept mine from year to year . I don't worry about them being in the sunny part of the garden, because I put leaves over them after the tops have gone from the frost. I just cut them back after they have bloomed or gone and then do the leaves. I also leave glad bulbs in the ground but put about 4" of leaves on top of them. It has been 3 yrs. now and they are fine- even multiplying, so I think if you have the room in your garden to sink the pots in - go for it, and you might be pleasantly surprised. My neighbour gave me some from her pots at Easter that had finished blooming and i just cut them back to about 1" and put them in the ground after all the spring frosts were over and they bloomed just as nicely again in august. so - give it a try-nothing ventured- nothing gained -or lost, if you are just going to discard anyhow.
sandra

So you are leaving them in the pots Sandra?
One way or another I will sink them in the veggie garden bed and then they will get moved next spring and planted somewhere else.

Hi Carol- Went on Holidays-I leave lots of plants in pots. Lilies, roses, shrubs, hosta-- you name it and I have probably left it in a pot over the winter. I pot a lot up in the fall and just pack them all in nice and tight to each other and then cover with leaves or I will dig the pot into the garden and then put leaves on top( if I am worried that it is too delicate or I just can't afford to take the chance of loosing it). Over the last 5 yrs., I think I have lost about 3 plants and that was because I hadn't transplanted them into larger pots-- they were still in four inch pots. and potbound to boot, so they didn't have enough insulating to stop the freeze/thaw that happens during the winter. I'll try anything once, unless i've paid big bucks for it, but at the same time I also try to propagate just about everything either from seeds or cuttings and have had some fantastic outcomes. So, final advice is never throw it away until you have tried everything to keep it alive and sometimes plants just get tired and go dormant (look dead), but after a winter rest that little root will suddenly come to life and push up some green, maybe not as good as it was, but after another year will be right back to what it was. Have fun :>)sandra

Thanks Sandra

They were all in good sized pots and some were multiples ( those really huge ones) so I took some that had finished flowering out and cut them back ,loosened up the roots a bit and put them in the veggie bed.
Still have some in flower and I think I will leave them in the pots and sink them in the same bed. Certainly worth a try considering how much money I spent on them!