Bushel basket mums pop up in the landscape and at the garden center every fall. Soon after they take up residence in containers everywhere.
Commonly known as “cushion” mums, these potted explosions of bloom should be treated as annuals for seasonal color in the garden. This variety of mums has been bred to bloom like crazy on short stems that work well displayed in the pots they grew in or massed in large containers.
Because they bloom late in the season, it is not recommended that you transplant fall-purchased, potted mums into the garden. It is iffy that they’ll acclimate enough to survive winter.
Mums have been cultivated for two thousand years and are thought to originate in China with a common ancestor that was a golden yellow daisy-like flower.
Plant breeders have been busy and today mums are available in the full range of colors, except blue. Their flowers can take one of nearly a dozen forms, including: pastel daisy, fluffy quilled zinnias, dahlias, or “football” mums with large incurving petals.
The blooms on cushion mums last for weeks and as a cut flower they will last ten days to two weeks.
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[...] … If the seed pods are allowed to remain, the plant will not continue to give you flowers like it would if the seeds were removed once the flowers go by. You could end up with a garden with lots of seeds and few blooms. This of course, depends on many factors. Therefore, faded flowers should be cut off. You can … Container Mums for Fall Color [...]