Mums: what's the deal?

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Spunkster Stafford, VA(Zone 7a) Oct 14, 2008

Is it just me? I cannot get mums to last more than 10 days in the pots or planted in the ground. I am a newbie gardener, but I've had plenty of success with other plants potted and planted in the ground, but year after year, I go and buy a bunch of mums from the garden store for the Fall and the mums will not survive. Apparently they are perrenials so I think they should be somewhat hardy? What am I doing wrong?

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pepper23 KC Metro area, MO(Zone 6a) Oct 14, 2008

You might be getting the annual ones. Stores sometimes carry those instead of the perennial ones. Next time you go and get some ask a worker if the ones you are interested in are perennial or annual. That can make a difference.

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Spunkster Stafford, VA(Zone 7a) Oct 14, 2008

Thanks: actually I know they are perennials b/c I specifically asked one of the workers there and it says perennial on the pots.

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pepper23 KC Metro area, MO(Zone 6a) Oct 14, 2008

How often are you watering?

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ecrane3 Dublin, CA(Zone 9a) Oct 14, 2008

What the workers tell you and what it says on the pots aren't necessarily a guarantee of accuracy--especially if you're getting them at places like Home Depot, Walmart, etc they are notorious for mislabeling things, selling things that are not going to be hardy in the zone they're selling them in but not warning you of that, etc. Regular nurseries are usually better, although it's still not a guarantee.

But it sounds like they're dying before you even get to winter, so if I'm understanding that correctly then it doesn't have anything to do with whether they're perennials or annuals. For the ones that you're putting in the ground, if the weather's still hot when you're planting them it could be that transplant shock is just too much for them. And for the ones in pots, a lot of the ones I see for sale out here are severely rootbound, so if you're not repotting them when you get them it's nearly impossible to water severely rootbound plants properly.

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