Mums: You Can’t Have Fall Without Them

There is no better symbol of fall than mums. Their colors, paired with the changing leaves, have become the season’s official palette. Mums come in nearly every shade imaginable, with varieties that can keep you blooming from August through November. But what if I told you the mums you plant now could return next year? A true perennial mum. I cannot promise much beyond the sun rising and setting, but I can tell you there are hardy mums. Even the less hardy types have a much better chance of coming back with the right care.

How to Get Mums to Return

Let’s start with the traditional mums. I have sold hundreds of thousands over the years, and every fall I hear shoppers say, “I like this one because it always comes back for me.” It was not a special variety, but who was I to tell them their mum was not special? More likely, they planted it in early August.

That is the key to overwintering garden mums. Most are hardy to Zone 5, but they do not root quickly in the ground. In pots or peat, they grow like weeds, but in soil they take more time. Plant them in late September or October and they often do not establish enough roots to resist heaving as the ground freezes and thaws. Plant them in spring or summer and I have had nearly a 100 percent success rate. I even had mums at my wedding in August of 1995, planted them at my grandmother-in-law’s house, and they are still thriving today. Sadly, she is gone, but the flowers remain.

How to Shape and Time Mums

Now let’s talk about getting mums to be perfectly round and blooming in fall, not earlier. Years ago you had to pinch them to shape, but most modern varieties are bred to grow round without pinching. The bigger issue now is timing. Pot-grown mums often start too early because they are treated like bedding plants, blooming in July or August instead of September and October.

My fix is simple. I cut them back to the ground around July 4th. Yes, shear them off completely. They will grow back quickly, form a tidy mound, and flower right on time. The same trick works for asters too.

Introducing Dendranthema: Your Foolproof Mum

Over the years, there has always been a so-called “special” mum. We often call them perennial mum or true perennial mums. In the first naming convention, it was called Hardy Chrysanthemum, then the name changed to Dendranthemum, then to Dendranthema, and now some are back to being called Chrysanthemum. The original hardy mum is exactly that. A true perennial with a mum-type flower, but much taller, wider, and a little lankier than the typical garden mum. It also blooms much later, often in late October and November, and I have even seen it in full bloom in December.

I use the same care as I do with other mums to get them fuller, which means trimming them to the ground in July. Even then, they are not the perfectly round balls you see in traditional garden mums. What they do give you is reliability. They come back every single year. Over time, breeders have introduced more color choices, and companies have worked to create varieties that look very similar to garden mums while adding durability and branding. The best known of these is the Igloo series.

Today I want to share some of my favorite hardy mums and explain why I think they deserve a place in your garden.

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Chrysanthemum ‘Matchsticks’

Botanical: Chrysanthemum 'Matchsticks'
Variety: Matchsticks
Height & Width: 18–24 in tall and wide
Color: Golden yellow petals with scarlet red tips that deepen in cool weather
Zone: 5–9
Description: Unique spooned and quilled petals give a “matchstick” look. This was one of the first “new” varieties to be developed and was an instant hit. You can see why. Still my favorite of the hardy mums

Chrysanthemum ‘Venus’

Botanical: Chrysanthemum × rubellum 'Venus'
Variety: Venus
Height & Width: 24–36 in tall × 24 in wide
Color: Flowers open nearly white and age to rose-pink with yellow centers
Zone: 4–9
Description: This is the first I saw in gardens 40 years ago. The OG. One plant could get 5 feet across and be in flower at first snowfall

Chrysanthemum ‘Bronze Elegance’

Botanical: Chrysanthemum 'Bronze Elegance'
Variety: Bronze Elegance
Height & Width: 20–27 in tall × 16–27 in wide
Color: Double pom-pom blooms in shades of apricot to deep bronze
Zone: 6–9
Description: Looks like your traditional garden mum with the double bronze blooms. Not as open as the Dendranthema but the color is fantastic

Chrysanthemum ‘Mary Stoker’

Botanical: Chrysanthemum × rubellum 'Mary Stoker'
Variety: Mary Stoker
Height & Width: 30–36 in tall × 20–24 in wide
Color: Straw-yellow daisies that mature to warm pink-peach
Zone: 5–9
Description: Vigorous, free-flowering perennial. Blooms from late summer to frost. Attracts pollinators. Excellent early bloomer and cut flower. Love the pink that comes on the flowers when they get their first frost. I don’t use “lovely” very often but they are lovely

Chrysanthemum ‘Rhumba’

Botanical: Chrysanthemum 'Rhumba'
Variety: Rhumba
Height & Width: Compact mounded habit, flowers about 2 in across
Color: Coral-red buds opening to coral-peach with golden centers
Zone: 5–9
Description: When this first came out, it was a HUGE hit. No staking needed and got so big so fast. I don’t know this child, but he is great for showing how big one plant can get. Everyone loves the peach with the yellow combo. This is the one I would have if I had to choose one. But I don’t have to thank goodness

Chrysanthemum ‘October Glory’

Botanical: Chrysanthemum 'October Glory'
Variety: October Glory
Height & Width: 3 ft tall × 3 ft wide
Color: Peach to apricot daisies in fall
Zone: 5–9
Description: Hard to find anymore. The color is a nice soft pastel Apricot. Big plant, and color will make people stop and ask what the flowers are in the late fall. If you don’t want it to flop, a cut back in summer is helpful. I am looking for a start of this

Chrysanthemum ‘Emperor of China’

Botanical: Chrysanthemum 'Emperor of China'
Variety: Emperor of China
Height & Width: 3–4 ft tall × 2–3 ft wide (can be pinched to shorter)
Color: Burgundy buds opening to silvery-pink double flowers with white centers; foliage turns mahogany red after frost
Zone: 4–9
Description: Hardy and fragrant with a lemon-spice scent. Excellent for cutting. Another, which can get a little floppy and could use a cut back. Also very difficult to find, and if you see the name, it’s almost always another garden mum that shares the same name. My favorite thing about this plant? The foliage turns like a burning bush after frost

Chrysanthemum ‘Mammoth Coral’

Botanical: Chrysanthemum 'Mammoth Coral Daisy'
Variety: Mammoth Coral
Height & Width: 20–36 in tall × up to 48 in wide
Color: Large semi-double coral-pink daisies with yellow centers
Zone: 4–9 (very hardy shrub type)
Description: Shrub-like cushion mum that is from a series called “Mammoth” It was one of the series of Branded perennial mums. The Coral was our most popular color in the series. Mounding and not whispy like many of the above.

Chrysanthemum ‘Innocence’

Botanical: Chrysanthemum 'Innocence'
Variety: Innocence
Height & Width: 3’ X 3’
Color: Pale peach-pink buds that open mostly white with a soft glow
Zone: 5–9 (approx.)
Description: It so pale of pink, it looks white when the buds open. The pink comes on with age and with the cold. An old-fashioned favorite. We lost our original stock at our nursery and have never seen it here in the States anymore. More of a European old favorite. 3 plants will fill a whole side yard

Chrysanthemum ‘Igloo’ Series

Botanical: Chrysanthemum 'Igloo Series'
Variety: Igloo Series (includes many hardy forms)
Height & Width: Generally 18–24 in tall × 18–24 in wide
Color: Various shades depending on cultivar (white, pink, yellow, bronze)
Zone: 5–9
Description: A hardy perennial mum series bred for landscape use. Reliable overwintering and compact growth. These are all the rage right now. Seems to have better overwintering than a typical cushion garden mum. As I said above, I think a July planting of any mum will do well but after that, if you want a traditional, I would go the direction of Mammoth or Igloo

A Picture is Worth a Hundred Words

As always, HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND and thanks for reading…..pass this on to a friend if you think they will enjoy it. We added a bunch of readers last week so thank you everyone for the forwards. I’ll keep at it if you keep reading.



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