Shop Products
Houzz Logo Print
buzzkillgrl

My mums collapsed!

buzzkillgrl
11 years ago

This was a BEAUTIFUL "bush" of Mums a few weeks ago...but it has completely collapsed under it's own weight. I DO know this thing needs to be divided ASAP in the Spring. As I prepare for a brutal WI winter, any ideas on what to do with these mums?? Should I cut the whole thing back or just leave everything there to drop, die, and rot?

Thank you so so much for any feedback.

Comments (6)

  • mxk3 z5b_MI
    11 years ago

    I would leave standing over winter. Not sure if there is actually any merit to the old advice to leave mum foliage standing over the winter for protection, but I do it anyway.

  • mistascott
    11 years ago

    ^There is merit to that advice. Research for Yoder Brothers in 1992 showed that between 75 and 100% of overwintered sheared mums in each cultivar group perished. Cultivar groups that were not sheared had very high survival rates and bounced back earlier and more vigorously in Spring than those that were sheared and survived.

  • ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
    11 years ago

    did you buy it this year.. ???

    if not.. you could have pinched it back.. a couple times during the growing season .. to make a more compact plant .. which would have stood up better ... but it has been hit by hard frost/freeze.. so it is that time of year ....

    if that sidewalk is snowblowed [??? is that a word???] ... then i would suggest there must be some pruning.. or it might get ripped out of the ground ...

    not to mention.. that it will get slimey as heck.. and it looks like it is laying over the step to the doorway ... and you dont want to slip on it ...

    if all that is correct .. prune it back ... and cover it with a couple inches of mulched leaves ... bury it .. but do not suffocate it ..

    in my experience.. it is very shallow rooted.. and in that spot .. [cement retains winter sun heat] it has the potential on sunny winter days.. to go in and out of dormancy.. and nothing will kill a mum faster than that.. hence the mulching ... to keep the sun off dark soil in winter ...

    ken

  • rusty_blackhaw
    11 years ago

    Informal experience with Yoder suggests that 75-100% of their unsheared mums die over the winter. :)

  • ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
    11 years ago

    oh.. and one other thing ... in z5 .. MAYBE only half of mums sold.. are actually zone 5 hardy ...

    they are basically produced and sold as ANNUALS ... in our zone..

    so without an actual ID what mum it is .... there is a shot.. that no matter what you do ... it will die.. in z5 ...

    back in the 90's.. i used to mail order rootlings at about a buck or two a piece in early spring.. and being a DINK ... i would buy 20 to 50 different ones .. and most died over winter in z5 ... and after a few years .. i lost interest .. and over a few more years.. what ended up remaining .. lol .. was the standard 2 or 3 plants.. i saw all over the neighborhood .... most likely.. the ones i asked neighbors for a piece of ... lol ... so much for beating the system ...

    ken

  • aachenelf z5 Mpls
    11 years ago

    From the looks of that plant, it's be in that spot for a few years (the poster made a comment about its need of division), so it's been through a few winters already and has most likely proven its winter hardiness. Of course there's always the chance of some unusual winter weather which could knock it dead, but that's the way it goes with everything.

    Trim it back a bit and have faith.

    Kevin

Sponsored
Land & Water Design
Average rating: 4.9 out of 5 stars30 Reviews
VA's Modern & Intentional Outdoor Living Spaces | 16x Best of Houzz