This Trick Will Keep Mums Alive All Season Long

By  Charlotte Beach
Split screen image of someone watering mums on the left and a woman smiling and gesturing at the mums on the right @theporcheplace/Instagram

This time of year is all about indulging in all of our favorite fall treats like food, fashion, and foliage. Mums are one such annual autumn delight, bringing cozy seasonal hues to stoops, porches, gardens, and window boxes, as fall is the perfect temperature for them to thrive.

As wonderful as the plant is, though, they typically have a heartbreakingly short lifespan that makes investing in them feel like a fool's errand. Emily of the interior design studio Porche and Co. raises this issue in a recent Instagram post, in which she offers a solution to prolonging their lifespan that's as handy as it is easy. "Just buy these affordable plastic saucers from The Home Depot and water them daily from the bottom up," she writes in the caption. "Now you can enjoy these gorgeous flowers all fall long. Just add pumpkins!"

Split screen image of a woman showing the camera plastic pot trays on the left and that same woman sliding the tray under a pot of mums on the right@theporcheplace/Instagram

Emily demonstrates how to simply place one of the plastic plant saucers under each pot and instead of pouring water directly into the mums themselves, put the water into the plastic trays. Emily plugs the Vigoro brand pot saucers in their video, which are available at The Home Depot right now in six sizes ranging from six inches to 16 inches in width. They start at $1.98 a piece, and top out at just $5.78.

Commenters on the post express their support of Emily's handy hack. "I needed this! I've never been able to keep them alive!!" writes one user. "Wish I would have known this a month ago! Now I will know for next year," adds another.

So what are you waiting for? Keep your mums thriving all fall long with this simple trick.

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