The Simple Trick That'll Make Outdoor Mums Last All Season Long

Can you think of a more beautiful and cheery symbol of the arrival of fall than a pot of mums by your front door? Chrysanthemums, or mums, offer vibrant flowers of various colors throughout the year, but one common autumn decoration is the annual fall mum, often sold in pots. These mums offer bright shades of orange, yellow, and other autumn colors to a home's exterior. Potted mums are a perfect addition to your porch or patio, but you might find that they don't seem to make it through the fall. One mistake you might be making with your mums is not repotting them when you bring them home. Transferring your mums from the nursery pot to a new pot is better for its roots as a new pot allows them to evenly spread.

When you buy a container of mums at the store, farm or local garden center, you likely want them to last all season long. Most mums last four to eight weeks and with proper care for the roots, you can ensure yours offers beautiful blooms. Store-bought mums are often root-bound, which can affect the soil's water retention. If your flowers have uneven water distribution due to root overcrowding, they can't grow well. Give your mums in containers more room to grow and flourish by following these steps.

You can easily start the repotting process by watering the potted mum. For thriving outdoor mums in a container, choose a pot that's slightly bigger than their current nursery pot. As you pull out the mums, untangle the root ball gently with a shake, then plant in the new pot. Your mums need new potting soil, but not too much, so fill it up with new soil, leaving 1 inch at the top of the pot, then tamp down before watering. You want the water to drain sufficiently out the pot's drainage holes, so watch to make sure it drains. Before watering daily, test the soil moisture with your finger and lift the pot to see how lightweight it feels.

Mums hate being waterlogged and they also hate dry soil, so try to strike a balance between healthy watering without being soggy. Cooler weather will not dry out the soil as quickly as it would on the warmer days, so you can anticipate watering every other day, though possibly less if you have sufficient rain. For the best water absorption, try watering your mum from the bottom. Use a pan or bucket filled with a few inches of water, then set the potted mum to soak briefly, no longer than 20 minutes. You can also try watering from the bottom when your mums wilt.