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Mums as Indoor Plants
As indoor plants, mums need bright, indirect light, cool to warm, even temperatures and water. Trimming encourages more blooms.
Pots of brightly colored garden mums (Dendranthema x grandiflora) may be hard to resist in a store, and when you get them home, bright, indirect light indoors will help maintain their vivid colors. Watering and trimming also helps keep mums flowering. Containers for potted mums must have bottom drainage holes. Outdoors, garden mums are hardy in U.S. Department of Agriculture plant hardiness zones 8 through 10a.
Bright Spot
Bright, indirect light indoors prolongs blooming in potted mums. Place the potted mums on a windowsill that receives bright light but not direct sunlight. Direct sunlight encourages blooming, but the flowers soon fade, according to Today's Homeowner with Danny Lipford.
Even Temperatures
Mums grow best as indoor plants in cool to warm, even temperatures. Provide temperatures of 70 to 75 degrees Fahrenheit during the day and 60 to 65 F at night for the best results. Cool temperatures help prevent blooms from fading.
Sufficient Water
Watering indoor mums on a regular basis keeps them flowering. The plants need water when their potting soil's surface feels dry to the touch and their pots feel light when you lift them. Water mums at their bases to avoid splashing the blooms and causing discoloration. Pour water over the soil surface until the liquid flows through the pots' drainage holes, and allow the plants to drain before returning their pots to drip trays. In warm conditions, indoor mums may need water every day.
Warning
Don't allow the potting soil to dry out or leave indoor mums standing in water.
Trims for More Flowers
Encourage more blooms and keep the mums attractive by trimming their flowers and leaves when they fade. Wipe pruning shear blades with a cloth soaked in rubbing alcohol, and use the tool to prune faded flowers and leaves where they join the rest of their plant. Sterilize pruning shear blades again with rubbing alcohol when you finish.
