"Pam - gardengal" wrote in message
news:GjW4d.250448$mD.231205@attbi_s02...
I thought they were annuals.

Crysanthemums are for the most part perennials and are typically listed as
hardy to zone 5. However, they have been hybridized so radically, many
cultivars are much less hardy. What are commonly sold as "garden mums" are
generally treated and sold as annuals, however with mulching in fall, they
will frequently overwinter with ease, specially in warmer zones. Those
labeled and sold as Dendranthemum ('Clara Curtis', Mary Stoker') should be
reliably perennial down to zone 5.

FWIW, many plants typically sold as "annuals" are in fact tender
perennials.

pam - gardengal

I used to raise a variety of cushion mum developed by the Univ. of Minn.
that was hardy in zones 3-4. It came in a variety of colors and only froze
out when there was an unusually cold, open winter. Sometimes I found that
even though the roots appeared dead they would unexpectedly send up green
sprouts if placed in a warm area and watered. If any of them winter killed,
it was usually the white or yellow while the darker colors survived.

John