Enjoy this wonderful herb in your food, in your bath, or as a relaxing aroma. The white fungi is probably powdery mildew. We live in Iowa. We would like to know how to preserve our mums during the winter. Do we need to dig the bulbs up, or can we mulch over them so they'll bloom next year, spring, etc.
Mums are semi-hardy perennials.
They don't have bulbs. If they remain frozen during the January and February thaws, they usually thrive. In fact, if you find the right location, they can almost become a pest. Here in New Hampshire, they are not too dependable, but in the right sheltered place, they will grow and multiply. If I get them mulched, then I usually get a good number to survive through the winter.