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Why did my mum flowers die off?

Heruga (7a Northern NJ)

7 years ago

So I bought 4 small mums(Chrysanthemum x morifolium) in early august and planted them in full sun location. Zone 7a in northern NJ. They were blooming beautifully for a couple weeks then they started browning and now the flowers are all dead on all 4 mums. The plant itself is perfectly green but just the flowers died off. Why could this be happening? I've been watering them pretty diligently.

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Comments (5)

ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
7 years ago
all i can do is guess ...

when i buy fall mums.. i buy them.. in my MI around now.. and i buy plants with one single flower open ... so they will bloom thru october or so.. with the cooling weather ...

I SUSPECT ... you bought them in full flower .. too early ... so they have blown their wad ... and are in decline ... soooo.. next year.. buy later ...

you might be able to 'deadhead' them [thats the key word] ... and get another bloom off them before the season ends ... since you are in a warmer zone than i am ...

without a pic.. its hard to tell you how to do that.. so all i can offer .. is the link ..

soo... in summation your honor ... buy later for fall plants.. buy plants that are just beginning to bloom rather than at their peak ... and deadhead them ....

one way of restating that.. is that you bought a plant for instant gratification ... whereas i would buy one for delayed gratification ...

also .. transplanting in august.. can be a big stress.. as compared to transplanting now.. in sept ... that stress may have also had an impact.. never forget.. just because you buy it.. does not mean thats the best time to plant it ....

ken

https://www.google.com/search?q=deadheading+mums&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8
Heruga (7a Northern NJ)
Original Author
7 years ago
I guess I did plant them too early. But its too late, I actually already threw all four of them away in the compost. Then I planted in 3 hardy perennial mums in the same place last week. Hopefully these don't die off. And well I actually planted several shrubs and trees in july and august and all of them are doing fine.
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Heruga (7a Northern NJ)
Original Author
7 years ago
Ok so the 3 perennial hardy mums flowers are now dying off... what the heck is going on? And its not because the mum blooming time is over, I see all other mums in different people's houses and they are blooming just fine. I water it pretty diligently as well.. I'm confused
Renee Texas
7 years ago
The plant is still living well and growing? Dead head the mums, and wait for the next set of flowers. Mine are on their 3rd set of flowers since I bought them 2mo ago.
Heruga (7a Northern NJ)
Original Author
7 years ago
Oh they have sets of flowers? Yea the plant itself is healthy, just the blooms are dying off. But I see many other houses with mums in pots and they dont deadhead it at all and it blooms on one flower the whole time..

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