Is it difficult to grow mums?

[anndev]

My husband and I usually spend about $100 on mums to decorate the front landscaping in the fall every year.

We are looking to cut this cost down...

Has anyone grown mums from seed? Is it difficult? Anything I need to know? I would prefer to container grow them since they will need to be transplanted in the fall.

[bullthistle]

You can divide the mums you plant in the fall but the soil must be amended and then cut back the growth until June so they bloom in the fall. Most seeds planted in the spring usually don't bloom the first year.

[anndev]

Thanks for getting back to me!

Would you recomend I plant them in ground and then dig them up when they are ready next year?

Would you start from seed now?

[rainbowgardener]

I haven't grown mums from seed. But if you plant mums early in the season either from seed or by buying plants (they probably aren't available in local stores early, but they are available from on-line nurseries e.g. https://www.jungseed.com/dc.asp?c=273 ), they will have time to get established. Then they will come back and multiply, year after year.

The trouble is the local (big box) stores usually don't sell chrysanthemum plants until they are blooming in the fall. Then you pop them in the ground and they don't have time to establish much root system before winter and they die. Keeps people buying more every year.