The illustrated growing guide
Garden Mum
Chrysanthemum × morifolium
Family Asteraceae
Est. zones 5-9
The face of autumn — but the potted mums sold in bloom every September are usually spent by spring because they went in too late to root before frost. For a mum that comes back, plant a hardy type (like the 'Mammoth' daisy series) in SPRING and pinch it through early July. That pinching is the secret to the cushion of flowers instead of a leggy flop.
Full Sun
Moderate water
Fast growth
Attracts beesI
Overview
Will garden mum suit your garden, and what goes wrong.
Will it fruit where you are?
Enter your ZIP — we look up your USDA hardiness zone (2023 map) and check it against what garden mum actually needs.
Hardy inZones 5-9Garden Mum at a glance
Common garden mum problems
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Growing
Light, water, soil, propagation and the season’s jobs.
How to grow garden mum: light, water & soil
How to plant & propagate garden mum
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The year
What garden mum asks for, month by month.
The garden mum year, month by month
BloomPruneWhat each band means
- Bloom — flowers open — pollinators working, frost on blossoms is the danger.
- Prune — shape it now — cuts heal cleanly and structure is visible.
The garden mum year as text
- Jan quiet month
- Feb quiet month
- Mar pruning
- Apr pruning
- May pruning
- Jun quiet month
- Jul pruning
- Aug quiet month
- Sep bloom
- Oct bloom
- Nov bloom
- Dec quiet month
These are the species' typical months — expect them a few weeks earlier in warm zones and later in cold ones. Watch the plant, not just the calendar.
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Ecology & uses
What it does for the garden, and what it is grown for.
Garden Mum in the garden system
- Herbaceous layer perennial
What garden mum is grown for
! Some parts toxic — see notesToxic to cats/dogs (mild)
Edibility, identification, and traditional-use notes here are general reference — not medical or veterinary advice, and not a claim that any plant treats or prevents anything. Medicinal ratings record how strongly a plant features in herbal tradition, nothing more. Never eat or dose a plant you have not positively identified. More on how to use this library.
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Cultivars
Named varieties of garden mum, ruled as a catalogue.
Best garden mum varieties & cultivars
'Mammoth' series (hardy, perennial, huge); countless florist colors
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Sources & plant ID
Where the care distinctions come from, and how the plant is filed.
Research basis
Sources behind this profile
No extension citations are attached to garden mumyet. The care figures below come from the library's own catalogue rather than a traced primary source.
Plant ID
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Where to buy
Third-party nurseries — not Story Thyme Farms.
Third-party nurseries, not Story Thyme Farms. Prices are theirs.
Story Thyme Farms may earn a small commission from these links, at no cost to you — it never changes what we recommend.
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Questions
Garden Mum questions, answered straight.
Is garden mum safe for kids and pets?
With care. Toxic to cats/dogs (mild) Site it accordingly if children or pets roam the garden. This is general reference, not medical or veterinary advice — call a vet or poison control if something has actually been eaten.
How do you propagate garden mum?
Division or seed.
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Elsewhere
Where garden mum sits in the library.
Sunflower
Zinnia
Peony
Daylily