Woody has mentioned wintering over potted ones in the garage. I think the mesh cage and leaves with a sunken pot might work also. Perhaps try different things with the two pots?

• I've never had any problems wintering mums in the garage. They've always survived. The garage is unheated and not insulated, but is attached. Usually the mums are ones that we have grown in the big pots we use for veggies on the driveway. But sometimes we've stored them in the pots that they're sold in - we hadn't expected those to survive, but they did..... We usually store the pots in a group about halfway back in the garage (so they aren't close to the doors) and nearer the house wall - but not right against the house. The soil in the pots is usually moist from fall rains when the pots are moved into the garage (DH moved them all in this past week). We don't water the pots before they are stored as the moisture levels from rain is usually sufficient, and the pots are not watered again until they are moved out in the spring (late March or early April, depending on the weather). Ken, who posts here often, had a good suggestion of putting a snowball in the pot to avoid too much wet in winter but provide moisture in spring if the temperatures warm up early.

Thanks! I think I will do something different with each pot. I should have bought 4 as a science experiment. Woody, did yours have flowers on it when you brought it into the garage? What do you use as the determinant for when to bring them in? End of blooming? Or outside temperatures?

We have had unusually warm temperatures here. It will be 55 F today, nighttime ~ 35F . Its been like that for weeks, occasionally higher in the daytime. These are blooming heavily; also with no browning out of petals on the top like on the cushion mums I bought at the same time.

It’s funny: I was googling “chrysanthemum shapes” after posting, to see if I could get a name for what I have, and ran across a page from the University of Minnesota, discussing the cultivars they developed. I clicked on “Upright shapes”, and the second one there it looks just like the one I have.

http://mnhardy.umn.edu/varieties/flowers/chrysanthemums

“Centerpiece.” Though they call it midseason, defined as Sept 1-15. Could be what it does in the ground. The label on mine said coral, and “rose lavender” IS closer. Maybe it is not the same one, but it sure looks like it. The petal shape “Quill/spoon” is the same.

I am now pretty sure this nursery gets some of their starts from the University of Minnesota, or uses their patented stock, as I recognize names I saw out in their mum display.

FWIW, I have bought so-called “perennial” mums in late spring several times in the last few years, and none have survived the winter.

I have had success healing in mums that are still in their nursery pots in my vegetable garden for the winter. Then covering with shredded leaves. The ones that were in their nursery pots didn't survive in the garage. YRMV.

Usually the ones we've stored in the garage have mostly finished blooming. I've never bought the ones with quilled or spooned flowers so I don't know it they are different or not. This fall has been unusually warm here too. We'd usually bring the pots in to the garage based on temperatures - when the first hard freeze is expected at night. There's no sign of that yet this year but we wanted to clear the driveway and gave up waiting for the cold and just moved them in anyway! Actually, I discarded two big pots of Mammoth Mums because I got tired of them..... I've come to prefer the planted-in-the-ground old fashioned mums I've got as divisions from neighbours and some newer varieties that come from a nursery/breeder in Manitoba, so they are very hardy.

Great success flowergirl.