Cold hardiness

Future

2050

2100

These values are location-based: this location's current hardiness is the baseline, and the 2050 value is a projected future climate for this same location.

Now

Zone 6b

USDA

Published baseline for this location from 1991-2020.

Source: USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map 2023 (1991-2020 climatology) via ArcGIS FeatureServer

Well-suited

2050

Zone 7a

Plotwright

Projected zone for this same location in 2050 (2041-2070) using SSP3-7.0 (regional rivalry).

Well-suited

In plain terms: This location is in Zone 6b today. Its hardiness profile is cold winters, and coldest nights are typically around -3°F. By 2050, the projected hardiness zone is Zone 7a based on SSP3-7.0 (regional rivalry). That is a +0.5-zone shift from Zone 6b to Zone 7a by 2050.

✓

Well-suited today and still thriving in 2050.

Heat tolerance

Future

2050

2100

Heat tolerance values are location-based too: heat days today are observed at this site, and the 2050 value projects this same location under a future climate.

Loading AHS heat-zone data for this location...

Where this plant fits

Suitable across 41 ecoregions — 39 climate-resilient through 2070 · 1 suited today · 1 newly possible by 2070. Best matches first.

Appalachian mixed mesophytic forests

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Appalachian-Blue Ridge forests

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Arizona Mountains forests

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Atlantic coastal pine barrens

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Blue Mountains forests

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Canadian Aspen forests and parklands

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Central Pacific Northwest coastal forests

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Central Tallgrass prairie

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Central-Southern Cascades Forests

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Chilean Matorral

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What it needs

Conditions

Light

Full sun / Part shade

Water

Consistent moisture

Spacing

18"

Habit

Compact, clump-forming herbaceous perennial mound

Care tips

•

Pinch the stems two or three times from spring through about mid-August for a bushy, flower-covered mound.

•

Keep the soil evenly moist in fertile, well-drained ground in full sun for the heaviest September-to-frost bloom.

•

For reliable return, treat zone-5/6 plantings as marginal: mulch after the ground freezes, or grow as a fall annual.

Lifecycle

Planting

Per Missouri Botanical Garden PlantFinder, grow in humusy, fertile, consistently moist, well-drained soil in full sun (tolerates very light shade). Plant in spring after the last frost, or in late summer / early fall before about September 15 so roots can develop before winter.

Transplanting

Divide established clumps in spring as new growth begins; replant the vigorous outer divisions and discard the woody center.

Early growth

Pinch or cut back the stems two or three times in spring and early summer (last cut by about mid-August per NC State Plant Toolbox) to encourage bushy, compact growth and prevent premature spring flowering.

Maturity

Mature plants form erect mounds 2-3 ft tall and 1-2 ft wide that flower prolifically from September to frost. In the South they overwinter outdoors readily; in colder zones survival in the ground is less reliable, which is why many are grown as one-season annuals.

Propagation

Propagate by spring division or by stem cuttings taken in late spring to early summer.

Pollination

Self-incompatible

Garden mums are insect-pollinated daisy-family composites grown from named clones (propagated by division or cuttings), so garden plants are not raised from their own seed. NC State Plant Toolbox notes the flowers attract butterflies and serve as a welcome late-season nectar source in a pollinator garden; many densely double cultivars offer little accessible nectar, so single- and semi-double forms are the better pollinator picks.

Plants don't grow alone

Nectar forage

Bee

European honeybee (Apis mellifera)

NC State Plant Toolbox documents garden mum flowers as a welcome late-season nectar source in a pollinator garden; open single- and semi-double forms give honey bees and other generalist foragers accessible late-fall nectar and pollen.

Nectar forage

Bee

Common eastern bumblebee (Bombus impatiens)

As a late-season composite flowering into frost, garden mum offers bumble bees nectar and pollen at the end of the season; bumble bee use is plausible from its documented pollinator-plant value rather than a species-specific record.

Nectar forage

Butterfly

Skipper butterflies (Hesperiidae (family-level entry))

NC State Plant Toolbox states the flowers attract butterflies; skippers are common late-season nectar visitors to open-flowered composites, so visitation is plausible though not individually documented for this hybrid.

For people

Parts edible

NC State Plant Toolbox notes the petals and flower buds are used to make a sweet drink or tea in Asia and a wine in Korea. Treat only the flowers of plants grown without pesticides as food; the species is grown ornamentally, not as a food crop, and contact with the foliage can irritate skin in sensitive people.

Native range

AHS heat range

1-11

Climate notes

•

Missouri Botanical Garden PlantFinder lists Chrysanthemum morifolium "garden mum" for USDA hardiness zones 5 to 9, height 2-3 ft, spread 1-2 ft, full sun, medium water, with bloom from September to frost; it notes the plant is native to China and is often grown as an annual.

•

NC State Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox publishes USDA zones 5a-9b, full sun (6+ hours, tolerating partial shade), and well-drained soil high in organic matter, and describes the species as a complex hybrid of five Chinese species (C. argyrophyllum, C. dichrum, C. indicum, C. nankingense, C. zawadzkii).

•

Not native to North America (a hybrid of Chinese species), so no LBJ Wildflower Center native-range profile applies; cold-hardiness in the ground is marginal toward the colder end of its range, which is why it is widely sold and used as a fall annual.

In the designer

Growth over time

24-36" tall · 12-24" spread

Mature 2-3 ft mounded clump; divide every couple of years to keep it vigorous.

Design roles: Border · Container · Pollinator

Seasonal interest

Spring

Summer

Fall

Winter

Filled = the plant has seasonal interest · ▾ now = your current season

Garden mum

At a glance

Related products

Why it matters

Cold hardiness

Heat tolerance

Where this plant fits

What it needs

Lifecycle

Pollination

Plants don't grow alone

For people

Native range

Climate notes

In the designer

Seasonal interest

Sources & citations