Costco Mums Are Huge—Here’s What to Know Before You Buy One

There are fall mums, and then there are Costco mums.

Costco’s oversized chrysanthemums have a following for an obvious reason: they’re huge, packed with buds and surprisingly cheap for their size.

This September, the 14-inch fall mum was $17.99 at my Columbus-area Costco. The pot is 14 inches, but the plant spills well past it. The purple mum I brought home last fall was about two feet across, a nearly perfect mound covered in hundreds of buds.

That alone makes Costco mums one of my favorite Costco fall finds. But the best part came after the season ended.

Instead of tossing mine when the blooms faded, I planted it.

I’m in Zone 6b in Ohio. I gave it almost no special treatment and fully expected it to die over the winter. It didn’t. By spring it was pushing out dense green growth, and by the next September it was covered in buds again.

If you buy mums as one-season porch decor and toss them in November, that’s completely reasonable. Eighteen dollars of fall color is still a good deal. But if you’re already buying one, it’s worth giving it a shot in the garden when porch season is over. Worst case, it ends up in the yard waste a few months later than it would have anyway.

How Much Do Costco Mums Cost?

As of September 2026, the 14-inch Fall Mum (Costco item #85852) was $17.99 at a Columbus-area Costco.

Prices vary by warehouse, but that’s a useful benchmark when you’re comparing against grocery stores, garden centers and home-improvement stores.

The price makes even more sense once you see the plant in person.

I recently bought a nice mum locally for about $14. It’s a perfectly good plant. It’s also roughly half the size of the Costco mum I bought last fall.

For about $4 more, you get a much bigger, fuller plant.

Current Costco mum price: $17.99
Pot size: 14 inches
Costco item number: 85852

Costco prices and inventory vary by location. This price was verified at a Columbus-area warehouse in September 2026.

How Big Are Costco Mums?

Costco mums come in 14-inch pots, but the plant itself extends well beyond the container.

Mine was about two feet across when I bought it. It had the rounded shape you see in styled fall porch photos, without grouping three smaller pots together to fake it.

That size is most of the value.

One plant is enough to anchor a porch, patio or entryway on its own. Add a couple of pumpkins or a second mum in another color and you have a full fall setup without buying a bin of seasonal decor. If you want it off the ground and looking a little more finished, a large bronze or black urn planter does it. Look for one at least 15 inches across so the root ball has room.

When you’re choosing a plant, look for the most unopened buds. A mum that’s already in full bloom looks great in the cart, but one covered in tight buds still has most of its show ahead of it.

Are Costco Mums Perennial?

Sometimes. I wouldn’t count on every one.

Some mums are bred as hardy garden plants. Others are florist mums meant for a single season of color. Costco doesn’t label which kind you’re getting, so there’s no way to promise how any specific plant will do.

Conditions matter, too. The University of Illinois Extension notes that garden mums can come back in climates like Ohio’s, but survival depends on drainage, sun, how established the roots are and how rough the winter gets. Fall-planted mums have the hardest time, because they have the least time to root before the ground freezes.

That’s why mine coming back was a genuine surprise.

What Happened After I Planted My Costco Mum

I bought a purple Costco mum in late September 2025 and kept it on the patio all fall. When the flowers were done and we got one last warm day before winter, it just seemed too nice to throw away.

So I planted it, with about as little effort as possible.

I put it in a backyard garden bed, filled in around it with potting soil and added some leftover mulch. The spot gets shifting light through the day, not full sun. After the blooms died, I cut it back fairly low. Then I left it alone.

By April, every stem above ground looked dead. If I hadn’t known where it was, I’d have written it off.

Then new green growth came up around the base.

By early summer it had filled back into a full green mound. It even put out a few early flowers, and I briefly wondered if it would bloom all summer. It didn’t. Mums respond to shorter days, so once the days started getting shorter, it began setting buds. By September it was gearing up for a full second bloom.

It’s not the perfect sphere it was when it came home from Costco. A landscaping mishap took out part of it, which is no fault of the plant. But it’s alive, full and about to flower again, a year after I bought it as temporary decor.

Can You Plant Costco Mums In the Ground?

Yes. If you’d rather keep your Costco mum than toss it, plant it.

The earlier, the better. Spring is the ideal time to establish mums, because the roots get a full season to grow. For a mum you buy in the fall, get it in the ground as early as you can, ideally about six weeks before your first expected frost.

That’s not what I did. I kept mine on the patio most of the fall because I wanted to enjoy it, then planted it on one last warm day. It survived anyway, but I’d call that a lucky experiment, not a schedule to copy.

If you want the best odds with the least effort:

• Pick a spot that drains well. Wet, heavy soil is hard on mums over winter.
• Give it as much sun as you’ve got. Full sun is best, but mine made it with partial.
• Plant before the ground freezes. The more time the roots have, the better.
• Mulch around the base. Mums have shallow roots, and repeated freezing and thawing near the surface is rough on them.

How To Care For Costco Mums

If you just want it looking good through fall, the main job is not letting it dry out.

A mum this full has a lot of leaves pulling water from a fairly small pot, and it can go from fine to wilted fast on a warm, sunny fall day. Check the soil every day or two, and water when it starts to feel dry rather than waiting until the whole plant droops. A soil moisture meter takes the guessing out of it in a pot this deep, since the top inch can feel damp while the root ball underneath is dry.

If you plan to move it into the garden afterward, your focus shifts to the roots: good drainage, as much sun as possible and mulch for winter.

One thing I’d do differently: I wouldn’t cut it back so hard before winter. Leaving the old growth standing, along with mulch, gives the base of the plant a little extra protection. Mine survived my aggressive trim, but there’s no reason not to improve the odds.

When Does Costco Get Mums?

Costco mums usually show up as warehouses switch over to fall inventory.

I bought mine in late September 2025. This year, the 14-inch mums were already in stock at my Columbus-area warehouse by September 14.

So start checking in late summer. Timing varies by region, and the best colors go fast.

If you’re a member, check warehouse inventory in the Costco app before making a special trip. If you’re not, a Costco membership is what gets you in the door, and I’ve broken down whether a Costco membership is worth it if you’re on the fence.

Image alt text: Large assorted fall mums in 14-inch pots displayed on warehouse racks at Costco.

Are Costco Mums Worth It?

Yes. For size, fullness and price, Costco mums are one of the best fall plant buys you can make.

At $17.99, you get a 14-inch plant big enough to carry a porch by itself, instead of three smaller pots doing the same job. The ones I’ve seen have been genuinely full and loaded with buds, not a big pot with a mediocre plant inside.

They’re also one of the few Costco buys without a bulk problem. There’s no 12-pack to work through, just one plant, which makes it an easy yes even if you’re shopping Costco for one person.

And if you can get it into the ground afterward, the value gets even better. I bought mine because it was beautiful enough to justify $18 as one season of decor. Having it survive an Ohio winter and bloom again was a bonus I didn’t see coming.

Would I buy another? I’m already planning on it. The only real decision this fall is which color.

The Bottom Line On Costco Mums

Costco mums are worth looking for mainly because they’re so big for the price. The 14-inch plants are around $17.99 in my area, and a full one can spread much wider than its pot. Pick one that’s full, even and covered in unopened buds so you get the longest bloom.

And when fall is over, don’t assume it belongs in the trash. Mine survived a Zone 6b winter with almost no help, came back strong in spring and set buds again the next fall.

Yours might not. But for a plant that already earned its $18 on the patio, it’s worth finding out.

Related: 9 Costco Fall Finds Actually Worth Buying In 2026
Related: Is Costco Worth It for One Person?