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After it gets cold where you live, dig a hole and put half the pot into the ground. Leave the
plants in the pots.
Cover with leaves and a couple inches of mulch. I would put 3 inches at least down.
Next spring you will see them come to life again.
Plant them then, and mulch well.
Or leave in pot til next Fall, just put fresh soil in next fall.
I have mums from 5 years ago, they bloom spring and fall you know.
I love them.
Butterfly4u, It gets very cold here. I am in Colorado and we have very hard freezes. Do you think it is still okay to leave half the pot in the ground or will that not work due to the climate?
I do not know about CO, but in Ohio, also very frigid in the winter, mums come back in the spring. I mulched them well after they died back for the winter, and they came back in the spring. In the north, we pinched back the buds before the
4th of July in order to get the fall flowers. Throw some dry fertilizer on them on Memorial Day, July 4th and Labor Day.
Here in the south, they bloomed in the spring, are just about to bloom again, and perhaps will bloom a 3rd time before frost.
You'll notice, if you were to ask, most of the people who have responded to you do not have any more experience with cold and elevation than you do, both critical to being able to grow plants. Even hardy mums will more than likely not survive the winter for you if planted in the fall. This is assuming that it goes in the ground green and growing. Waiting until the frost has hit and the plant to go dormant will not work. Most gardeners in your area plant them in the spring for a reason.
To understand what will live and what will most likely never make it in your garden you need to know your zone. You can use this map to pinpoint it: Colorado Interactive USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map Usually in the west your Sunset zone can also be helpful to know but I suspect that you are more than likely in a zone 1 for that. Sunset climate zones: Nevada, Wyoming, Utah, Colorado - Sunset.com Most chrysanthemums labeled as hardy, are hardy to USDA zone 5 and a small number are hardy down to 4b if well protected.
Before you do anymore work in the garden you will need to know a few things about gardening in higher elevations, cold and drier climate. If you have questions do not expect people who live in the south, on the coast or otherwise in easier to garden climates, what will survive, because they will give you answers for what works for them, not you. Always double check answers you get here!! Ask a local expert in your community like the Master Gardener association in your country or if you don't have one the next closest county. Colorado Master Gardener Program, Colorado State University Extension
If you have inherited a thriving garden the previous owner really knew her plants and her growing conditions well and probably amended the soil very well. That is a huge plus and I commend you for trying to keep it all alive and thriving. The first thing you need to learn is how to prepare it all for winter. Wait until spring before you add any new plants and spend the time instead on putting mulch on the beds when they have been exposed to the first cold weather. Read up on growing plants in your area through the publications put out by the extension and take classes if they offer them on plant care. The link above to the CO Master Gardener program also has links to all sorts of publications and helpful guides and will give you information true for your conditions. Master Gardeners have both experience and training that is local and will be happy to help you, it is their job!
If you want to try and have some of you mums survive you can try it knowing that it most likely won't work. I've been, on occasion, surprised when a plant comes back against all odds and it is a very satisfying find when it happens. You have nothing to lose except for the time it takes you to dig them in. Do not wait until the mum is dead looking in the pot, especially in your more desiccating climate. They need to go into the ground right away. Make sure the soil is well amended and water well over the next few weeks to help establish some roots but make sure the water drains away or the mum will die from "wet feet" (it causes root rot and mums are very prone to it in winter). As soon as frost has hit hard enough to brown the plants it is time to begin layering mulch over them as insulation. Add the mulch in increments of an inch every so often. Leaves are great for this but you may need to add heavier material like shredded bark if you are in a windier location. By the time the ground is solidly frozen you should have about 5 or 6 inches of mulch on most of your garden. If you have very snowy winters you may need less, if you have dry winters with little snow then you will need the full amount. Snow is a great insulator if it is there the whole winter.
In the spring you will need to reverse the process for the whole garden by removing the mulch from right around the plants in layers and if the mum made it it should begin showing green along with your Shastas. Good luck.
As for plants bought from Costco--well, that's a different story. I'm a huge fan of most things from Costco but not their plants. Every plant that I have ever bought from Costco died after replanting. I'm not sure if they give them stimulants that eventually exhaust them, or if they spend too much time in warehouses, or what the problem is, but when I buy a plant from Costco I now treat it as something pretty that will be short lived.
As for plants bought from Costco--well, that's a different story. I'm a huge fan of most things from Costco but not their plants. Every plant that I have ever bought from Costco died after replanting. I'm not sure if they give them stimulants that eventually exhaust them, or if they spend too much time in warehouses, or what the problem is, but when I buy a plant from Costco I now treat it as something pretty that will be short lived.
Many of the plants grown for what is referred to as "box stores" are grown on a completely artificial schedule using light blocking, extra lighting, growth hormones and special fertilizers all timed to get something blooming at a certain time. Mums are one of these plants and one of the reasons that in cooler climates people will not have them return as a perennial. I am lucky to have most of mine not only survive but actually multiply over the winter now, but when I had a zone 5 garden most of those forced mums were really not hardy varieties and had been forced to the point of being too week for the cold conditions. Some of the latest varieties of those labeled "hardy mums" really are quite good but you won't find them in the mass plant sales. It is best to just treat them as annuals like you are doing.
I haven't seen any mention of "field grown" mums in this thread. We live around the Amish, and they grow acres and acres of field grown mums. This is the only kind I've bought, and only one of each variety/color, many years ago. I was raised with the Amish, and they taught me how to easily grow my own, and they are very strong, hardy plants. It's so beautiful here in the Fall, when the acres of mums come in bloom! Here they are (last year) freshly dug and waiting for wholesale people to pick them up. They also sell retail, and usually they are only $3.00 each. Mine come up year after year with no mulching. My neighbor bought 2 of these pots of field grown mums a few years ago, and she leaves them in the pots, sets them against the south side of her house in the winter, and covers them lightly with aged horse manure. Each year, they grow back, she shapes them over the spring/summer, and puts the pots on her front steps in the Fall when they're in full bloom. They are gorgeous!
This first photo is one of the Amish Farms growing/selling mums. The next 2 photos are on another Amish farm down the road, where they sell wholesale or retail.
Thank you everyone for the great information! J & Em I am on it with the CSU extension Master Gardener Program--what a great resource--thank you! It is definitely an interesting process trying to figure out how to keep everything going and alive here. We are so thankful we bought an older home with mature landscaping and I don't want to lose any of our plants, trees or flowers in the learning curve. I'm going to contact the people at CSU to ask some questions about other aspects of our yard as well. At some point I should post some pictures of what we have going on here--it is truly amazing the way the prior homeowner planned out plants and flowers for every season. We moved here in April and our yard has bloomed and changed so dramatically--it has been an amazing journey for us. From the perennials to the roses, grapes, raspberries and blackberries--it is beyond anything I have ever encountered!! I am determined to keep this place growing well.
rdlr-what incredible photos of mums. So beatuiful!!
Also, I figured out we are USDA Zone 5a. Very helpful information--thank you again J & Em!
Great that you know it, now. Keep it mind whenever you ask a question about gardening. It is not a prefect system but it does help avoid plants that are not going to have a chance in your area. Sometimes the sunset zones will be very helpful in the western part of the country, too. Keep that garden going it sounds wonderful!
I haven't seen any mention of "field grown" mums in this thread. We live around the Amish, and they grow acres and acres of field grown mums. This is the only kind I've bought, and only one of each variety/color, many years ago. I was raised with the Amish, and they taught me how to easily grow my own, and they are very strong, hardy plants. It's so beautiful here in the Fall, when the acres of mums come in bloom! Here they are (last year) freshly dug and waiting for wholesale people to pick them up. They also sell retail, and usually they are only $3.00 each. Mine come up year after year with no mulching. My neighbor bought 2 of these pots of field grown mums a few years ago, and she leaves them in the pots, sets them against the south side of her house in the winter, and covers them lightly with aged horse manure. Each year, they grow back, she shapes them over the spring/summer, and puts the pots on her front steps in the Fall when they're in full bloom. They are gorgeous!
This first photo is one of the Amish Farms growing/selling mums. The next 2 photos are on another Amish farm down the road, where they sell wholesale or retail.
I just bought some mums from an Amish greenhouse out near Panama, NY. We'll see if any of these come back. I have a very cold site, and my mums never survive, even the ones from an old farm wife who's grown them for years. I'm hoping that planting them on the south side of the house will do the trick as a lady down the street has them growing there. We'll see.
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Here they are (last year) freshly dug and waiting for wholesale people to pick them up. They also sell retail, and usually they are only $3.00 each. Mine come up year after year with no mulching. My neighbor bought 2 of these pots of field grown mums a few years ago, and she leaves them in the pots, sets them against the south side of her house in the winter, and covers them lightly with aged horse manure. Each year, they grow back, she shapes them over the spring/summer, and puts the pots on her front steps in the Fall when they're in full bloom. They are gorgeous! 
