"Volfie" wrote in message
...

"dps" wrote in message
...
Volfie wrote:
Last night I found a dozen HUGE mum plants in pots, bagged and waiting
for
the garbage man to come pick them up. Some of them look very brown
and
dead
but a few of them still show signs of greenery (although not *much*).
I
was wondering if I should take a chance and replant them all in my
garden
and hope for a spring revival? Is it possible that even the ones that
look
very brown might come back with the new season or is that just wishful
thinking?

BTW, whoever threw these out, threw them out in decorative pots, too.
I
wish I could meet these people BEFORE they actually toss the plants.
I
love
getting free garden plants.

Giselle



So it doesn't take much work to plant them and maybe mulch them and wait
to see what happens. At the very least you have some new decorative
pots.

(from another scrounger...)

Oh, I know it's worth planting them but if the general consensus was that
some might be too dead to revive, I was going to plant those in a less
conspicuous area and not in the middle of my garden.

Do you think I should cut them back to 1 or 2" or should I leave them with
the full stems now and cut them back in early spring rather than put them
through another shock?

Cut them back now. In the spring, when you've got some healthy growth, get
some rooting powder, take cuttings, and make more plants. Then begin
pinching back the existing growth to make them bushier. That's what
greenhouses do with a lot of the potted mums you buy in late summer & early
fall. Just make sure you stop pinching around early July (if I recall
correctly). The plant needs time to start making flower buds.