Pot Mum - The Indoor Garden Plant

The Pot Mum or Florist's Mum is a classic houseplant often brought as a present at Christmas, Easter or Mothering Sunday. In some parts of the world it's given to a person as a symbolism of motherhood, for example shortly after the recipient has given birth. Strictly speaking the plant is a garden plant, and gardeners will know it as Chrysanthemum, or chrysanth flowering in late Summer through to Autumn / Fall and reaching 90cm / 3ft tall. However you can also buy it as a smaller houseplant where it has been treated with hormones and lighting tricks to restrict the growth and cause out of season flowering. As a result you will be able to buy it all year round in a compact size.

Pot Mum's are normally only temporary guests in our homes, the duration of their stay usually mirrors how long they are in bloom, which in ideal conditions is around 6 - 8 weeks. For this reason the Chrysanthemum indoors is more of a pot plant, used for splashes of colour to brighten up a dull spot or a thoughtful birthday present from a work colleague. After the flowering period is over the plant is normally discarded, because trying to get them to re-bloom indoors is often more hassle than it's worth, they're also cheap to buy and therefore simple to replace.

If you live in an area of the world that does not have very cold Winters, once flowering has finished indoors, plant it outside. The Pot Mum will revert back to its proper growth patterns and should flower again next Summer / Autumn.

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Pot Mum Care Instructions

Light

In all cases bright light is required. The weak Winter sun, or early morning / late afternoon Summer sun will be beneficial.

Watering

The Pot Mum has an incredible transpiration rate and this is one of the reasons it is so effective at cleaning the air, because of this you will need to water quite often, perhaps up to twice a week. Keep the soil damp at all times.

Humidity

If being treated as a temporary pot plant there is no need to be concerned with humidity. If you plan on keeping it around for sometime you'll need to avoid placing it in very dry and low humidity areas.

Feeding

Any decent all purpose fertiliser once a month.

Temperature

Most flowering houseplants, including the Pot Mum, will keep their flowers for longer if the temperatures are on the average to low side, so 10°C - 18°C / 50°F - 65°F.

Repotting

This isn't needed as it wont be sticking around long enough to outgrow the pot it arrives in. If you insist on keeping it, then normal repotting rules apply. i.e. replace the existing pot with one that is slightly bigger.

Propagation

Hormones are used by the Nurseries to stunt the growth of the plants you buy from the shops, so anything you "propagate" will revert to the natural tall appearance state that you usually see in the garden "varieties". There isn't really any point therefore trying to multiply the plant for indoor use, however if you perhaps want to grow it outdoors on mass, say because you like the flower colourings or design of them then collect the seed.

Speed of Growth

Chrysanthemum doesn't really grow indoors. However if you plant outside after flowering has finished then it will revert back to its natural growth pattern which is fast.

Height / Spread

As brought, which is typically anything up to 30cm / 12in both in height and spread.

Flowers

Normally the flowers are the sole reason for buying the plant in the first place. The blooms come in a wide variety of colours and different shapes, although the doubles look nice with their upbeat cheerleader pompon like appearance, the single flowers with the daisy like yellow centres are the most popular. You can get them in every colour shade except blue and black.

Anything else?

This is one of the very best houseplants for removing formaldehyde, benzene and ammonia from the atmosphere surrounding it.

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