caprice
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Mums

I am having a problem growing mums. Yes, I know, everyone keeps telling me just stick them in the ground and they will grow. But I have tried this several years in a row now and nothing. I have purchased inexpensive ones from Kmart and expensive ones from a nursery. It has always been in the early fall. I have left them alone and I have mulched them for over the winter (I live in central Wisconsin). And every spring I look for the new growth that was promised and nada.

Does anyone have any idea what may be wrong. I have beautiful gardens that I grow a ton of different flowers in. Tulips, Iris, Liatris, Creeping Phlox, Astilbe, just to name a few.


By-the-way, I have the same problem with Daisies and Brown Eyed Susans. I even tried (gasp) transplanting some of the wild ones from the roadside into my garden. Nothing is taking in these three types of flowers.

What am I doing wrong?

opabinia51
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Location: Victoria, BC

Well,

some plants are perennial in certain climates and annual in other. That may be your problem. As far as transplanting wild plants, what may have happened is that you have transplanted them in spring or summer when the plant has spent all of it's energy into blooming and then was stressed when you transplanted it and then.... bye bye plant.

So, you may wish to try transplanting the wild plants when they are not in bloom. That might increase your yields.

caprice
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As for whether mums are perennial or annual in my area, I see mums growing all over the place. Our zone is right on the edge of 4/5 so mums should be perennials in my area.

As for the wild flowers, good tip. Thanks.

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Grey
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Location: Summerville, GA, Zone 7a

I really have no idea - I'm looking online for an answer for you though!
I did the same thing you do - bought mums, stuck them in the ground - I didn't know they were perennial until they popped up this spring. Not all of them did - the yellow ones did, but the intense red ones did not.

My first thought is to get your soil tested - I'll look up what the favorable dirt conditions are for them.

This site had some good information:
https://www.kingsmums.com/growinf_info.htm#Soil%20Preparation

Another site I found said that some varieties of mums are hardier than others, and that (the site was for zone 5/6, so warmer than you) no matter what you do, some winters are too harsh and they die. It suggested one known as "Prophets."
https://www.yoder.com/press/prophets.htm

Hope that helps!

caprice
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That is a good idea to get the soil tested.

But, as I was thinking of the prior response to the stress on the native wildflowers and how they, also, did not come back the following spring. And in reading the webiste you so kindly passed along....mums are usually available for purchase in the early fall in my area. They are potted and in full bloom. But we have pretty harsh winters. And although I mulched and tried to protect them, I was thinking that maybe the same problem is occurring. I am transplanting them when they are expending a lot of their energy in blooming. There is a normal "shock" period for transplants of about two weeks on top of the stress of continuing to produce flowers. Maybe, there is a possiblity that they just do not "take" before winter sets in.

I am thinking that I will try and find some mums now, in early summer and plant them. This should give them sufficient time to establish themselves before the hardships of winter punish them. I wil still protect them this winter.

If (and I mean if, because I have not seen any mums sold in my area at this time of the year) I get them planted early this year, and if they do not come back next year, I will get the soil tested. Although I actually have really good soil, rich with compost and I mulch all of my gardens with bark chips and from the website you guided me to that sounds about right for mums.

But thanks for the website. It was a help for sure.

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Grey
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Location: Summerville, GA, Zone 7a

Sounds to me like you may have hit on the problem. Maybe someone you know wouldn't mind giving you a couple of mums from their yard? I have extras in planters - were I closer I'd drop some by. :)

Or - maybe you can overwinter them in a hotbox or something, then plant in the spring?

caprice
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Joined: Wed May 24, 2006 5:40 pm

Excellent idea on the hot box! I'm still hoping to find some to purchase now or soon. But if I have to wait until fall, I will try the hot box. I've been wanting to set one up anyway. Perfect excuse to do so.

Thanks.

Dedee
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Location: Muskogee, OK

Hello, I live in oklahoma and my mums are in topspoil with mulch mixed in(all my flowerbeds are this mixture) My mums are aggressively taking over the bed there in I have them under a large shade tree. It is july 5th and I have blooms on about half of them. I aggresively pinch them back thrue out the spring and early summer. I have noticed from my own experience they like the filtered shade, I water every 2-3 days, I use miricle grow shake and feed, in the winter the leaves fall and I just let them stay all winter laying on the flower beds and rake them off in february so my tulips can come up.
I hope this may help you. I used to work in a green house and mums are grown from cuttings and they like equal amounts of shade and sun. Thats why they tipically bloom in the fall.

Gardena
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What happens to your mums in winter? they disappear or they go brown and dead. or lose all leaves?
I live in northern CA normally I clip them to 20 inches after flowers done in early winter. they don't grow much in winter but still have some leaves left til spring new leaves flashes.
You are watering good? they drink lot of water it seems.
You are overwatering plants? they seems to get fungus disease which cause to lose all leaves and die.

Gardena
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addition to they are very strong plants. I don't think replanting shock is enough to kill it...It could weaken plants at beginning but they'll adjust to it very well. I've seen in Japan they make winter protections like put sitcks around and clear plastic over it like instance greenhouse.
Maybe you want to try if you have severe winter.

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I live in canada and had no problem with them coming back I prune mine after they flower or sometimes wait til spring when I see the new growth coming out



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