The Major Difference You're Missing Between Store-Bought Mums And Nursery Mums

It's easy to get confused about the chrysanthemums sold in the fall and throughout the year. The care and garden potential of chrysanthemums depends largely on where they came from and the purpose for which they were grown. Mums sold in nurseries and garden centers, typically known as "garden" or "hardy" mums, are intended to be planted in the garden. Plants bought in stores and from florists, known as "florist mums," are meant to be seasonal, decorative plants that may be displayed indoors and are not intended to be planted. Big-box and grocery stores may sell both — garden mums in the garden center and florist mums in the area where bouquets of cut flowers are sold.

If you were to plant a store-bought florist mum after its blooming season, it probably wouldn't survive because it wasn't developed as a hardy plant to be planted outside in the cold. Even nursery-grown garden mums need care and handling when planted in the fall, and you can learn how to plant your potted chrysanthemums so they come back every year. A significant difference between these and florist mums is that the latter are grown so that flowers bloom on a long, single stem, suitable for cutting, as opposed to the branched and bushy appearance of nursery-grown garden mums. Store-bought florist mums are often subjected to a disbudding process, resulting in a single flower at the end of the stem. These long stems look great in a flower arrangement, but would seem odd in the garden.

If you are gifted a chrysanthemum plant and don't know whether it is a store-bought florist mum or a nursery-grown garden mum, one way to discern the difference is to look for stolons (also known as runners or shoots). Mature, nursery-grown garden mums will have short stolons at the base or just underground. When you're shopping for mums and aren't clear on which type of mum you're encountering, try checking the tag first. Then, consider the time of year; nursery-grown garden mums bloom in early fall, so they can be planted before the first frost. Store-bought florist mums bloom later in the fall. By the way, mid-September is the best time of year to buy mums for lasting fall color all season.

If you have a good handle on how to keep mums alive, you can plant your nursery-grown garden mums before the first frost in the fall, cutting the plant back by 6 inches first and providing mulch. You can also purchase and plant mums in the spring, which experts and gardeners generally prefer. Alas, the best location for store-bought florist mums is probably the compost pile.