Q: Our church recently put out one hundred mums in pots for our late September dedication. Someone told me that these cannot be planted in a garden. We hate to throw away that many mums. Can they be successfully transplanted to a bed?

A: DON’T throw them out! They can absolutely be transplanted into gardens…and would be, in years to come, a nice remembrance of the church dedication.

Truth be told, florist mums grow taller than garden mums….. but with a bit of care they can look spectacular next fall.

If the flowers have faded, cut the foliage down to three inches tall now and plant each mum in a sunny garden spot. Mulch lightly around them with pine straw. New foliage will sprout up next spring. Shear it to four inches tall in late May and shear again to eight inches tall in mid July.

There will be planty of regrowth by September, on which the chrysanthemums will make a mass of flowers.