Released November 12, 2009
MANHATTAN, Kan. – In fall, many stores create show-stopping displays of colorful garden mums, deliberately placed to tempt impulse buyers.
Most often, the mums in outdoor arrays can go straight into someone’s landscape. Another common name for the garden mum is hardy mum.
“In Kansas, however, ‘hardy’ is a relative term. Even if certified for the state’s planting zones, garden mums are no more than semi-hardy,” said Ward Upham, who coordinates the Master Gardener program for Kansas State University Research and Extension.
Gardeners must ensure that mums don’t dry out completely, whether in pot or garden. Any period of drought translates later into less ability to survive winter well, Upham warned.
“Garden mums are one of the plants you need to water occasionally through winter, too, if the weather’s dry. You just need to wait for a day when the temperatures are above freezing,” he said.
Mums also have the best odds for surviving if well-established in a sunny spot before winter sets it.
“I usually recommend covering mums with a layer of mulch after the ground itself freezes– which in Kansas is typically between Thanksgiving and mid-December,” Upham said. “But, if you’re just now getting around to planting a container-grown mum, you might want to mulch it at the same time. That will provide some soil insulation and give the plant more time to grow roots.”
He cautioned that the mum-looking plants retailers display indoors may not be true garden mums.
“In most cases, they have unusual and quite beautiful mum-like flowers. But, if you read their tag, you discover they’re tender plants. So, they’ll only last for a while if you keep them indoors,” the horticulturist said. “And, when they lose their looks, they’re grist for a Kansas compost pile.”
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http://www.ksre.ksu.edu/news/story/briefs111209.aspx
Editor: Elaine Edwards, elainee@ksu.edu
