Fall mums bring brilliant color to Texas gardens right when summer flowers start fading away. However, picking the wrong plants at the nursery can lead to disappointment and wasted money. Many gardeners make simple mistakes that prevent their mums from thriving in our unique Texas climate.
Learning what to avoid will help you choose healthy, long-lasting mums that brighten your yard all season long.
1. Grabbing The First Colorful Mum You See
Bright blooms catch your eye immediately, but the prettiest mum isn’t always the healthiest choice. Plants covered in open flowers might look amazing today, yet they won’t last nearly as long once you get them home.
Look for mums with lots of buds that haven’t opened yet instead. Those tight buds mean weeks of future blooms waiting to unfold in your garden. A plant with mostly buds and just a few open flowers will give you the best show throughout fall.
2. Ignoring The Root System Completely
Most people never peek beneath the surface before buying, but roots tell the real story of plant health. Gently tip the pot and check if roots circle around the bottom or poke through drainage holes excessively.
Root-bound mums struggle to establish themselves in your garden soil. White or light-colored roots indicate good health, while brown or mushy roots signal trouble. Spending thirty seconds checking roots can save you from buying a plant that’s already struggling to survive.
3. Buying Mums That Are Already Leggy Or Stretched
Tall, sparse plants might seem like you’re getting more for your money, but leggy mums create problems quickly. Stretched stems mean the plant didn’t get enough light or received improper care at the nursery.
These gangly plants flop over easily and won’t fill in nicely like compact mums do. Choose shorter, bushier plants with dense foliage from top to bottom instead. Compact mums hold their shape better and create that full, rounded appearance Texas gardeners love for fall displays.
4. Skipping The Leaf Health Inspection
Yellow, brown, or spotted leaves reveal problems you definitely don’t want in your garden. Diseased foliage spreads quickly to other plants once you bring that mum home.
Run your hands gently through the leaves and check underneath where pests like to hide. Healthy mums display rich green leaves without discoloration, holes, or sticky residue. A few lower leaves turning yellow is normal, but widespread leaf problems mean you should choose a different plant entirely for your Texas landscape.
5. Forgetting To Consider Texas Heat Tolerance
September and early October can still feel like summer in Texas, with temperatures climbing into the 90s. Not all mums handle our lingering heat equally well, and some varieties wilt within days.
Ask nursery staff which varieties perform best in Texas heat before making your selection. Garden mums bred for southern climates tolerate our weather far better than decorative types meant for cooler regions. Choosing heat-hardy varieties means your mums will actually survive until cooler weather arrives in late fall.
6. Picking Mums In Flimsy Decorative Containers
Those adorable baskets and ceramic pots look festive, but they often contain smaller, weaker plants than regular nursery containers. Decorative pots cost more while giving you less actual plant to work with.
The soil in fancy containers frequently dries out faster too, requiring constant watering to keep plants alive. Buy mums in standard nursery pots and transplant them into your own decorative containers if desired. You’ll get healthier plants with better root systems for the same money or less.
7. Not Checking The Plant Tag For Care Information
That little plastic tag stuck in the pot contains valuable information many gardeners ignore completely. Plant tags tell you exactly how much sun the mum needs and how large it will grow.
Some mums prefer morning sun with afternoon shade in Texas, while others handle full sun beautifully. Knowing whether your mum needs six hours of sunlight or tolerates partial shade helps you plant it in the right spot. Reading tags takes seconds but prevents placing sun-loving plants in shady areas where they’ll struggle and disappoint you.
8. Waiting Too Late In The Season To Buy
Procrastination costs you the best selection and healthiest plants when buying fall mums. By mid-October, nurseries have mostly picked-over inventory with stressed plants that have sat in pots too long.
Early September shopping gives you first choice of varieties, colors, and the strongest plants available. Mums planted earlier also establish better root systems before winter arrives. Shopping early means you’ll enjoy weeks of blooms instead of rushing to plant tired mums right before the first frost hits your Texas garden.