Question
I was wanting to know if Mums are really hardy. I live in southern Ohio. Over the years I have bought Mums in the fall, I plant them after I'm done decorating but they never come back the next Spring. Can you tell me what the problem is?

Answer
Ah, yes, the case of the disappearing Mums.

Yes, Mums are hardy.  Yes, they are perennial.  About as perennial as Tulips.

Truth is, Mums don't like cold wet snow and they don't come back every year.

Pretty depressing, isn't it?

Years ago, I bought the most stunning football Mums from Bluestone Perennials (www.bluestoneperennials.com).  Wow, they were something.  And wow, they cost a lot of money.

But it was worth it, no?

After all, I could never grow these from seed.  There's no such thing available.

Plus, these are perennials.  That means they will come back again every year, right?

Wrong.

I searched for signs of life in the spring.  There were out of a dozen, perhaps there were 2 that survived.  But they did not grow into strong healthy Mums.  Even they kicked the bucket at the end of the season.

Wow indeed.

Turns out lots of "perennials" that are "hardy" do the same disappearing act.  And there's NOTHING you can do about it.

Sure, you can make sure they have the ultimate drainage.  Grow them in their preferred Zone climate.  Talk to them, make friends with them, take their picture.  Nothing works, they do not return.  End of story.

If you are made of money, I urge you to go out and buy these every year.  They are simply stunning in the garden.  It took my breath away, the way these blossomed, in the most stunning way.  I was the envy of all of Garden Street.

But winter came.  And the show ended.

I am a gardener with the greenest of thumbs.  Not perfect, but I know my way around a garden.  And when Mums don't return, it's not my fault.

I did try again.  And still, like children off to college, they left home and never came back.

Someday, I'll see them again, growing in that big garden in the sky, and maybe I'll ask them if there's anything that will make them stay.  But I have a feeling they would just not plant those Mum feet in anyone's garden for very long.  Them's the nature of Mums.

Carol, try Dahlias.