Ah.......those beautiful wonderful mums!
Don't we all simply adore how they bring us
much needed garden beauty and colour -
inside and out?
They come in scarlet, pink, rust, yellow, purple....
beautiful, hardy and much loved.
(Kinda like women, well not the purple bit, but the beautiful, hardy and much loved part.)
But did you know they really DO come back for us
year after year if you just leave them in pots and put them
under a porch or in your garage?
You must remember that come spring when the world
is coming back to life they will look very very dead.
You will think they are dead if you have never saved them,
you will be absolutely certain of this and want to toss them, trust me.
And sometimes they really ARE dead.....but you won't know unless you
SAVE THEM!
I put mine on the other side of the house once frost scare is over
in early spring
because they're so ugly and stickly and dead looking.
But I promise, if you water, feed and love them and they will return!
(almost always!)
When the summer is coming on full force your will see the
leaves on them begin to grow - just waiting for Autumn to thrill you!
Most all summer it will be just a nice looking
growing dark green house plant kinda thing-
but no longer such an eye-sore and
that's when they get to come back
and play with my other potted beauties!
If you plant them in the ground in the fall
they eventually really can become huge bushes.
(But remember they take awhile to come back to life.)
Or, like me, if you keep them in huge pots
they will eventually just be wonderful
huge mums again.
They kinda grow as big as the pot will let them.
So, after the season when your mum is done
giving you pleasure with its awesome beauty
remember to NOT throw it away.
SAVE THOSE MUMS UNTIL NEXT YEAR!
See how nicely they come back to share their beautiful selves?????
This little tidbit brought to you by the
Born Again Mums at Finch Rest.
As always, thank you for your visit!
♥
~Michele
Linking:
Thank you for this post! Every year, I buy mums....then I toss them. I need to save them so I don't have to buy them next year!!
ReplyDeleteWe don't have as much luck with them up here in the cold climate we have but I have had one come back for one year only. I bought a purple aster 3 years ago and it had a tag that gave instructions to plant it in the ground. It has bloomed the last 2 years and grown too. I might try planting my mums this fall as I have a spot in my flower bed. We'll see how they do. I certainly enjoy them on my front deck! They are so colourful.
ReplyDeleteSome years it gets too cold here in Ohio, too - so I know what you mean!
DeleteDang, I bought purple asters for the first time last year and didn't know THEY come back and pitched them in the compost - now I am extra glad I posted this today! Thank you so much!! ~Michele
Oh I will try keeping them in the pots to see...wonder if I put them in the basement... I did plant them one year and they came back the next except they grew up all leggy and puny. The next year, they didn't come back. Yup, gonna try again. Your mums are so pretty. I want a lipstick the color of the last ones.
ReplyDeleteMums are beautiful this time of year and a perfect addition to adding color to the fall weather.
ReplyDeleteVelva
I did not know that, Michele. I think I will try to save mine this year. I have a back area I can put them in while they are looking miserable! Yours are beautiful! xo Diana
ReplyDeleteI live in Wisconsin and do this every year. I usually do plant mine in the ground. I have several that have become pretty large bushes!! One tip I have heard from "real" gardeners is once they come back to life in the Spring, to always pick off any buds on the plant until the 4th of July and THEN let them bud out. I hope everyone tries this because it does work!! Chris K in Wisconsin
ReplyDeleteBeautiful mums!
ReplyDeleteI try and get my Fall mums in the ground before the ground freezes over. So far, I've had pretty good luck. Here, we are a usda zone 3.
Thanks for the great tips !
Smiles :)
Kerin
Now Michele, don't be too hasty to say there are no purple women....LOL
ReplyDeleteThe huge mums I buy each fall from the local junior hockey fundraiser are treated with something to keep them short for containers. When planted in the ground and allowed to grow a second year, they become quite tall so I don't bother to keep mine. I don't mind supporting these young boys each year for a disposable plant. The pots are nice to keep for my own creations in the spring.
Judith
Your mums add such a beautiful, colorful touch of Fall to your outdoors, Michele. xo
ReplyDeleteYour mums are beautiful, Michele! I used to plant mine right in the ground before they petered out in the Fall {at our old house}. I never thought they would come back if I left them in the pot. I didn't pick any mums up this year. I should get at least one small one to put on that little bench I repainted for our front area.
ReplyDeleteYour mums are beautiful... Happy, Happy Birthday Michele!
ReplyDeleteXOXO Mary
Good Advice! I have a couple that have survived several years... even with my brown thumb! :)
ReplyDeleteThank you for joining in for Fresh-Cut Friday!
Enjoy the rest of your weekend!
~Liz