How to Keep Mums Alive—Even if You Don’t Have a Green Thumb
Chrysanthemums or mums are one of the best flowers to use for the fall because their diverse colors match perfectly with your yellow, orange, and red fall decorations. So are you planning on planting mums for your fall garden this year? If so, you’ll need to know how to keep mums alive, especially during the winter.
Even if you don’t have a green thumb, you can keep mums alive as long as you purchase hardy plants. Once you know what you’re doing, mums are actually pretty easy to take care of!
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Photo by Jen Theodore on Unsplash
How to Plant Mums
First thing you should know about mums is that their chances of surviving the winter are much higher if you plant them before the fall begins. Not in the fierce heat of mid-summer, mind you—I recommend planting mums more toward the end of summer or early fall. When you plant your mums in the middle of the fall, they don’t have a chance to get established enough to face the bitter cold of winter.
Choose a sunny spot to plant your mums because they love sunlight. Any area in your yard is fine as long as the mums will get at least six hours of direct sunlight per day.
That said, mums also love soil that can drain well. If you have tightly packed soil with lots of sand, you might want to consider digging a small plot of dirt out and replacing it with potting soil that drains easily. Plant your mums in that, and you’re good to go!
Mums are beautiful when you have lots of them, so go ahead and plant several. Just make sure that you plant them at least 18 inches apart. They need plenty of space to establish their roots as they grow!
Photo by Jen Theodore on Unsplash
How Much Water Do Mums Need?
When you first plant your mums, water them every day—enough to keep the soil moist. Water at the base of the plant and not all over the flowers and leaves. After all, wet foliage can tend to lead to fungi, which is pretty hard to get rid of.
After your mums are well-established (about a week or so), you can decrease the water to about an inch per week.
Photo by Jerry Wang on Unsplash
Keeping Your Mums Alive During Winter
In order to increase your mums’ chance of survival through winter, go ahead and lay a thick blanket of mulch at the plant’s base. The mulch should be about 3 inches high. Do this before the first frost hits.
If the frost and ice from winter blackens your mums, cut the plant down to about an inch high. (I know it’s painful, but it will actually save the plant!) Keep the mulch about 3 inches high as before.
If your mums don’t get blackened, don’t worry about any cutting or pruning. Wait until the weather gets warmer to do that.
Your mums should be producing flowers before the winter strikes as well as once spring hits. When those flowers begin to wilt, go ahead and deadhead them. That just means to pinch off or cut off the flower at its base. You can also cut away dying or wilted leaves and stems—just be careful not to cut into the healthy part of the plant.
Photo by Anastasiya Romanova on Unsplash
And there you have it! Now you know how to keep your mums alive, including during the harsh winter months.
If you end up planting mums this season, snap a photo and post it on Instagram. And don’t forget to tag me (@hudsonfarmhouse) so I can see your beautiful mums!
Mums on your fall Front Porch
Of course, using them for decorating our fall porches is a must too! You follow the same directions when they are potted. make sure to buy mums that already in good shape and keep the soil moist.
Once you take them off your porch make sure to plant them! Check these awesome photos for some inspo!
Fall Front Porch Decor
You know I won’t leave you hanging on my favorite part! All the fun decor. Hopefully this year there isn;t a big pumpkin shortage liek they are saying becasue you can never have too many pumpkins.
Check out these items below to add to your fall front porch with the mums! You can also add ferns, cabbage, or kale like Liz Marie does too!
Using Mums for Fall Decorations
Check out this fall blog post on decorating your front porch! And if you liked this post make sure to pin for later and check out my other posts below all things home decor!
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