How To Properly Care For Your Mums to Have Them Coming Back Each Year
It’s fall in Michigan which means front porches are full of Mums everywhere you look! But as the weather gets colder, we notice people throwing their Mums away before checking or without knowing if their mums are perennials (come back each year). There are many questions around how to properly plant and care for Mums in order to have them coming back each year. We are here to answer your questions and give you the step-by-step process of planting and caring for your Mums.
Get to Know Your Mums
The first to know is that the most commonly used perennial mum is the species “morifolium”. Next to know is that the hardier the mum, the better chance it has surviving the winter and coming back next year. To find the hardiness of your mums, check the tag for the hardiness zones. (i.e. 5-9) Michigan’s area is classified as 5b, so as long as it's at a maximum of zone 5 then it has a good chance to come back the following year. And of course, the sooner you put your mums into the ground, the better the chances are for survival.
Into the Ground
First, you will want to dig a hole ideally in a location where there is no less than part-sun. The depth of the hole should be deep enough so that the soil line is the same as it was in the pot. Next, you will need to remove the Mums from their pot. Take your fingers and intertwine them within the bottom of the plant where the stem meets the soil. Slowly, flip the Mum upside down. You will then want to pat the bottom of the pot and the plant should come right out. Place the root ball into the hole and begin to cover and fill with the loose soil from when you dug the hole. Be sure not to apply too much pressure or condense the soil too tightly, keep the soil loose. Then, water your Mum into the ground.
Winterization
A misconception is that the cold is what kills Mums during the winter season, where in reality it is the ice that can form around the roots of the Mums that will kill the plant. That’s why well-draining soil is must when keeping your Mums healthy throughout the winter. But, why? If you have your soil too tightly packed this can cause the water to sit around the plant rather than being absorbed. As a result, this will create pools of water around the roots of the Mum and once the temperature drops, the water will freeze around the roots and kill your Mums.
Just A Trim
Next, you are going to want to pay close attention to the foliage of the Mums. After the temperatures have dropped and the plant has experienced some frost, the foliage will begin to turn brown. This is your indicator that it is time to get in there and cut back the stems of the Mums to about 3-4 inches from the ground. Do not cut back too much and leave some of the stems to have a fuller plant the following year.
Tuck Them In
The final step is to get your remaining stems covered with mulch, leaves, or straw to keep the ground insulated. The most common practice is to use stakes and burlap to hold down your choice of insulation. You would think that this would be to keep the stems nice and warm, where really this is to help regulate the ground temperature to one temperature, in this case, cold, so that the plant does not experience consistent fluctuations in temperature that can be morning damaging to the Mums than just being frozen.
What do you think? Pretty easy and seamless, right? Get out there and start planting!
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