Marianne's Response

How to overwinter Mums in containers in Western Washington

Every year I’m purchasing the large containers of Mums for Fall color for my garden from Costco because I’ve been unsuccessful at overwintering them. What is the best way to save them for the following year? I live in Port Townsend zone 8. Picture is borrowed from internet.

Posted by Debbie Nighswonger on August 16, 2022

Marianne's Response

You are not alone in your struggle to overwinter those gorgeous mum pots. The professional growers know how to manipulate the light in a greenhouse situation to force those plants into bloom. If you want them to flower again you will need to uproot the many smaller plants that are in the basket and repot them into new containers in November.  Depending on the size of the plants, figure a one gallon sized pots for each mum plant. A pot the size in your photo could have six or seven plants. Store in a cool garage or shed over the winter. Trim off the flowers after they fade but do not cut the plants back hard. Then in late spring move the potted plants outdoors to a location in full sun, prune back to six inch stumps, and fertilize with Osmocote Plus, keep the soil moist and let the changes in day length force the plants into bloom. You will also need to pinch the plants several times over the summer to get them to branch out.  They will flower much later than the plants that were forced in a greenhouse. Often as late as October. The plants will not be shaped as well as they were in one container either. To be honest, I have had not had good results recreating the flowering mum pots and usually suggest that the practical thing is to just buy fresh plants each fall. Keep growing, Marianne Binetti