How to turn your fall mum pots into winter porch pots
To make winter porch pots, cut the spent mums off at the soil line (or pull them and plant them in the yard), keep the old soil in the pot and water it well, then push in evergreen cuttings: tall branches in the center, fir or pine around them, and trailing cedar or pine over the edge. Soak the cuttings overnight first. In cold climates they last until spring; in a warm place like Florida, plan on two to three weeks and build them in early December.
Every November I’d look at our two porch pots full of brown, crunchy mums and think “I should deal with that.” And then I didn’t, until the week before Christmas! Now I just turn those same pots into Christmas pots, using the dirt that’s already in them. You don’t need new pots, new soil or a kit. Today I’m sharing exactly how I do it so you can turn your fall mum pots into winter porch pots too!
The quick version: cut your mums off at the soil line, water the old soil in the pot, and push evergreen cuttings right into it. Put tall branches in the middle, fir or pine around them, and something trailing over the edge. Soak the greenery overnight first, and if you live somewhere warm, wait until early December to build them.
What You’ll Need:
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Your fall mum pots (soil and all)
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Fresh evergreen cuttings - cedar, fir, pine and boxwood all work
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Tall branches for the center - red twig dogwood, birch, curly willow, or tall fir or pine boughs
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Battery fairy lights rated for outdoor use
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Floral foam, bamboo stakes and a couple of bricks - optional
Step 1. Deal With the Mums
You have three options:
- Plant them in the yard. Garden mums are perennials in a lot of the country (north and central Florida included), so they can come back next fall. Plant them, trim off the dead flowers, and see what happens.
- Compost them. This is totally fine! A lot of people treat mums as annuals, especially somewhere hot.
- Cut them off at the soil line and leave the roots in the pot. This is my favorite. That root ball works like built-in floral foam and helps hold your evergreen stems in place.
If your pot is tall and you’re worried about it tipping, this is also the time to add some weight. A couple of bricks in the bottom keeps a top-heavy pot from catching the wind like a sail. (I learned that one chasing a pot down the driveway!)
Step 2. Get the Base Ready
Keep the old soil! Fluff it up with a trowel and water it well, until it’s evenly damp all the way down. Damp soil packs around stems and holds them. Dry soil just lets them flop over.
Floral foam is optional. If you have a block of wet floral foam, soak it for at least 30 minutes, set it in the center of the pot, and pack soil around the sides. It helps the greenery stay hydrated a little longer, and it’s easier to place stems exactly where you want them. But the dirt works fine on its own.
If you live somewhere it actually freezes, build the pots before the soil freezes solid. Once it does freeze, everything locks in place (which is great for wind!), but you can’t move anything around after that.
Step 3. Prep the Greenery the Night Before
This step is the difference between pots that last weeks and pots that look tired in a few days.
- Recut every stem at an angle with sharp snips. I use the same micro-tip pruning snips I keep in my decor bin.
- Crush the ends of thick woody stems with a hammer so they take up more water.
- Soak everything overnight in a bucket or a bathtub of cool water.
- Let it dry, then spray with an anti-desiccant spray to seal moisture in. Skip it on cedar, blue spruce and juniper berries, because it can damage the waxy coating that gives them their color.
If you need to find the greenery itself, here’s my list of where to find fresh greenery (a lot of tree lots and home stores will give you free clippings if you ask!). Fresh cedar, fir, pine and boxwood all work. Skip hemlock, because it drops its needles fast.
Step 4. Build It: Thriller, Filler, Spiller
This is the same idea people use for summer planters, just with cuttings instead of plants.
Thriller (the tall part). Push three tall branches straight down into the center so they stand well above the rest. Red twig dogwood, birch branches (these real birch sticks come three to a pack at 48 inches each), curly willow, or just tall fir or pine boughs all work. My rule of thumb is that the tallest piece should be about one and a half times the height of the pot. This is what makes it look like an arrangement and not just a pot with some branches in it.
Filler (the body). Start at the outer edge and work in a circle toward the center. Angle the first ring of fir or pine down and out over the rim, then fill in toward the thriller. Keep going past the point you think it’s full! The most common mistake is not using enough greenery. It should look overstuffed.
Spiller (the edge). Tuck a few long, floppy pieces around the rim so they hang over the side. Cedar, long white pine or a trailing piece of juniper all work. This softens the hard edge of the pot.
Accents last. Add pinecones wired onto a stick, a few berry stems, or a bundle of cinnamon sticks. Outside, I’d use faux berry and pinecone picks instead of real berries, because they don’t shrivel or get eaten by birds. To make swapping things easy, wire any accent to a bamboo stake and push the stake in. Then you can pull it out and swap it without messing up the greenery around it.
Step 5. Add Lights
Wrap a strand of battery fairy lights up and around the tall center branches, tuck the battery pack down into the greenery, and set the timer. Use lights rated for outdoor use, and LED lights so there’s no heat on the greenery. The glow on the tall branches is what you see from the street at night, and I love it!
How Long Winter Porch Pots Last
| Your climate | What to expect | When to build them |
|---|---|---|
| Cold (soil freezes, highs mostly in the 30s) | Until the spring thaw, often all winter | Mid to late November, before the soil freezes |
| Mild (highs in the 40s and 50s, some frost) | About 4 to 6 weeks | Late November or the first week of December |
| Warm (Florida, Gulf Coast, highs in the 70s) | About 2 to 3 weeks for pine, fir and cedar; longer in shade | Early December |
Cold weather is actually your friend here. The colder it is, the slower the cuttings dry out. Warm sun is the fastest way to brown them.
If You Live Somewhere Warm (Like Me!)
We live in Florida, where December can still be 78 degrees, and fresh porch pots are a lot more work here than they were in Tennessee. Here’s what I’ve learned:
- Build them later. Wait until early December, not right after Thanksgiving. Just like I say in how to keep your greenery fresh, buy it as close to when you’ll use it as you can.
- Shade matters more than anything. If one side of your porch gets afternoon sun, put the pots on the other side.
- Water the soil every day or two in the morning. Keep it damp but not soggy (soggy grows mold), and mist the greenery while you’re out there.
- Use southern magnolia. It grows everywhere down here, the leaves are tough, and it holds its shape even as it dries. A magnolia pot still looks good long after pine has gone brown.
- Go half and half. Build most of the pot from cheap faux cedar (the way I do in my one-afternoon front porch) and tuck fresh greenery in on top. When the fresh pieces brown, pull them out and tuck in new ones for the second half of December. You still get that amazing smell when you walk past!
Do you have fall pots on your porch that need a Christmas makeover? I hope this gave you some ideas! If you turn your mum pots into winter porch pots this year, be sure to post on Instagram and tag me @sugardesignco because I love seeing the beautiful decor y’all create!
-Ciera
Made something with this? Tag me @sugardesignco — I love seeing them.
Questions I get asked
- Do I need floral foam for winter porch pots?
- No. The old potting soil from your mums works, and it's free. Water it well first so it packs around the stems. Soaked floral foam in the center does help fresh greenery last a little longer and makes it easier to place stems exactly where you want them, so use it if you have it.
- What do I do with my mums after fall?
- Garden mums are perennials in a lot of the country, including north and central Florida, so you can plant them in the ground and cut them back. If you don't want to bother, cut them at the soil line and leave the roots in the pot. The root mass actually helps hold your evergreen stems in place.
- What evergreens last longest in outdoor pots?
- Firs (like Fraser and noble), pines, spruce, cedar and boxwood all hold up well outside. Avoid hemlock, which drops its needles quickly. In a warm climate, add southern magnolia: it holds its shape even as it dries.
- How long do winter porch pots last?
- Where the soil freezes, the stems lock in place and the pots can last until the spring thaw. In mild climates expect about four to six weeks. In warm places like Florida, cut conifers last about two to three weeks, a bit longer in shade.
- Should I use anti-desiccant spray on porch pot greenery?
- Yes, on most of it, especially in a warm or windy spot. Spray once the greens are dry. Skip cedar, blue spruce and juniper berries, because the spray can damage the waxy coating that gives them their color.
