Use these tips to care for mums indoors as dormant plant life or as houseplants .

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You ’ve probably pose pot mums out on your porch , but can you keep mama indoors as well ? Maybe you want toenjoy your mumsa little longer after freeze temperature arrive , or even winter them as dormant plants in your basement for a return sojourn next class . If you provide the right conditions , you could even develop mums as houseplant . This guide explicate how to accomplish all of these goals successfully .

potted chrysanthemums and pumpkins on window sill

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How Long Can Mums Live Indoors?

If you have a cold weather centering coming and expect the weather to warm up up again after that , bring your potted fall mums indoors for the freezing temps and put them back out on showing when the temperature originate . The plants will be fine and wo n’t need any special treatment for a day or two .

After temp continue around freezing , keep open your evenfall - blossom mums inwardly for an extra few weeks of blooms is also gentle . Keep them deadheaded , water them when the top inch of soil is wry , and give them a sunny spot . If you do n’t think to overwinter them , you wo n’t need to provide extra fertilizer or repot them .

keep mums indoors long full term over the winter is possible but require more maintenance . momma can be keep “ awake ” as houseplants or , more commonly , grant to go torpid and brought back out in spring . mommy kept in the lighting and warmth indoors wo n’t continue to blossom all wintertime , but they still make adorable dark-green houseplants . Keeping them alive and actively produce also makes iteasy to take cuttingsto start new flora .

Garden Mums vs. Florist Mums

There are two primary types of mums that have different bloom times and hardiness , so are regale a short differently .

Garden Mums

The mums we corrupt in fall for fall decoration are usually garden ma . While they are perennial and stalwart inUSDA zone 5 - 9 , they often wo n’t survive the wintertime if planted outdoors .   They ’ve been putting all their energy into the magnanimous fall coloring display and have n’t had time to grow radical in their new smear . declivity - purchased garden mums can be savour in their pots this yr , brought indoors for the winter and kept abeyant , and then planted out in your garden in spring .

Florist Mums

Florist mum are often buy as houseplants to be given as gifts and might be in bloom at any time of the class . They are less unfearing and are usually kept as indoor plantslike poinsettias . They bloom for a bit and are thenadded to the compost pile . However , they , too , can be kept alive and coaxed to rebloom with stock houseplant care .

mom are phototropic bloomers , intend they flower in respond to the length of daylight . Greenhouse and nursery grower practice this trait to time their crops so they have Chrysanthemum morifolium continually bloom from late summer until mid - autumn . If shop for mum seeds or plants , you ’ll see them characterise as early , mid - time of year , or late - season bloomers .

Repotting Your Indoor Mums

Whether you have garden mums or florist mum , one key to keep them around for a while is repotting them with refreshing potting soil in a larger mickle .

Florist Dendranthema grandifloruom are often crowd together with several plant stuffed into one container to give a more full , rich appearance , making them promiscuous to betray ( who wants to grease one’s palms one straggly flora ? ) . Separating these and providing each with its own stack gives them room to expand their roots and grow firm .

Garden mommy are often potbound in the fictile nursery pots they ’re purchased in . The filth in those pots may be anything from potting mix , which is near , to heavy soil travail up from the back of the nursery or even pure sphagnum moss . A bracing mickle of pot soil will percolate them up , and the larger pot will provide room to maturate .

Do n’t use garden soil when repot ma . Instead , use a   effective - tone potting mix   that provides dear drainage .

Overwintering Mums Indoors

After repotting , you’re able to transition mamma to a abeyant state or pamper them and encourage them to grow as houseplant while overwinter over .

Caring for Mums as Houseplants

If you require to keep a mum as a houseplant , deadhead itand impart it in before freezing temperatures arrive .   monitor grunge wet grade is critical in keep mums alive over wintertime . It sounds obvious , but in the dry atmosphere of our home plate over wintertime , it ’s easy to forget about the momma by a window and allow it to dry out out .

Conversely , keeping mama soggy is a trusted recipe for root putrefaction , fungus gnats , and other issues that spell doomsday for an indoor mamma . Check the ground with your finger andwater when it feels dry an inch down . If you ca n’t get your finger into the soil , repot the plant .

Caring for Dormant Mums

Garden mum foliation begins to break back with a few frosts . If you want to stash away your potted fall mums as dormant plant over winter , wait until a few cold night have started killing off the top flora . Trim off the stem about 3 - 4 inches above the soil and place the industrial plant in a grim , nerveless localization , such as a garage or shed .

Dormant mums do n’t need much urine but do n’t lease the soil wholly dry out out . Keep it somewhat damp , and check it every few weeks .

Bring dormant florists' chrysanthemum out of darkness and commence wake them up several weeks before yourlast frost in bounce . Expose them to partial light indoors , add a little water , and watch for new green foliage to belt down up . Once it does , trim down off any remaining old vegetation from last year and beginhardening off the plantto go outside . After inure off , imbed the mum outdoors after the last frost in bounce , or place the pot in afull sun locationand begin fertilize on a regular basis .

How to Get Indoor Mums to Bloom

The rounded , shaggy-haired , and full mums we purchase every decline did n’t produce that elbow room without some supporter . Proper watering , timed lighting , fertilizing , and pinching all toy a office .

Provide Sufficient Light

Mums need full fair weather , and if they remain indoors , they may need supplementary twinkle when the growing season starts . While keeping a mum in a sunny window that provide 4 - 6 60 minutes per day of light is sufficient to keep the plant alive , it wo n’t be enough to get it develop and blooming .

If you want to keep your mum indoors for good , it needs a grow light . call up , plants habituate luminosity as energy to make food . What seems like a brilliantly lit elbow room to us may still not be enough igniter for a mum to gather sufficient energy to bloom .

Fertilize When Needed

fecundate potted mums is necessary . While those in the ground can forage for their nutrients , those in a pot are stuck with whatever was in the potting grunge you used . When that ’s gone , they ’re stuck . fertilise your indoor Dendranthema grandifloruom only during the growing season with a general - purpose liquid fertiliser at least every two weeks when you irrigate .

Don’t Forget to Pinch

To keep the rounded and mound pattern mums are notable for , you need to twinge them . This mean removing a small of the growing tips with your finger’s breadth . Pinching mums further them to branch more , which give a full appearing and , eventually , more flower head . Two or three rounds of crimp over the spring and summertime is sufficient . Stop pinch around the 4th of July and rent the flora settle into making blooms .