The Hardy Early Flowering Chrysanthemums 



By Charles H. Totty. 



Early Flowering 'Mums have been known and 

 grown in Europe for many years. Possibly ihe oldest 

 and best-known varieties are jMadam Desgranges, 

 George Werming and other varieties of that character. 



A certain amount of credit is due to Mr. Goacher, of 

 England, who introduced such varieties as Bronze 

 Goacher, Goacher's Crimson, Goacher's Pink, etc., etc., 

 but the man to whom we are most indebted is Auguste 

 Nonin, of Paris, France, who has worked on this type 

 of plant for many years, and mostly all the varieties 

 in cultivation today are either his seedlings or seed- 

 lings from his varieties. Many of these varieties have 

 been imported to America for the past twenty-five 

 years, but did not meet with much success because the 

 American cultivator, instead of planting the stock out- 

 doors and permitting same to grow naturally, as is 

 done in Europe, insisted on running it with one or two 

 flowers to a plant, making the plant produce large 

 blooms. This the earlier varieties would not do. 



Mr. W. N. Craig, of Northeaston, Mass., was among 

 the first to show possibilities of this type of plant. 

 Batches that he grew in 1907 and 1908 as garden plants 

 or without hard disbudding as pot plants, did a great 

 deal to start this type "of 'Mum on the road to 

 popularity. 



My catalogue in 1909 contained some ten varieties 

 of these Early Flowering 'jMums, mostly of the old 

 Marie Masse and its white and yellow sports. 



In the spring of 1909 I imported a large number of 

 kinds from England and France in an endeavor to find 

 which would be the most satisfactory. The Masse 

 Family, while beautiful, hardly grew tall enough, and 

 the foliage was not of the best. I had some forty va- 

 rieties under test during the year 1910, and in 1911 

 my catalogue contained about twenty varieties. These 

 included among others, Jack Bannister, Perle Chatil- 

 lionaise, Roi des Blancs and the old Carrie. In 1911 I 

 discarded every variety that was not in full flower on 

 or before October 1, as I was trying my best to work 

 out a type that would give buyer and grower three tc i 

 five weeks of flower outdoors with any ordinary fall 

 temperature. 



Pompons, which up to this time had been our chief 

 standby for outdoor flowering, were too late in coming 

 into bloom, and while there was no question of the 

 hardiness of the varieties, the frost too often had de- 

 stroyed the foliage, rendering the plant worthless, be- 

 fore the flowers had been developed. 



By 1912 the Early Flowering 'Mums were getting 

 very much talked about. My best introductions of that 

 year were, possibly, Normandie, Champion, Carmelite. 

 Lentz and Wells' Primrose. 



In addition to the plants flowering outdoors which 

 were a very great success, I had a lot of stock rooted 

 in June which were set out on the benches in the 

 greenhouses and which produced mar^'ellous results 

 for the time they were growing. Another batch in 

 pots also gave us the cue for extensive work .n that di- 

 rection. Last year not a few private estates purchased 

 these plants in large quantities with the idea of making 

 a fall display in the garden. In every case they were 

 delighted with the results obtained, and today it is safe 

 to say that Early Flow-ering 'Mums are a prominent 

 feature in many American gardens, and our catalogue 

 for 1914 discloses some ninety-five varieties which can 

 be depended on to give satisfaction for this work. 



The question is often asked me: "Are these plants 

 entirely hardy?" So far as their behavior in our own 

 State is concerned 1 can say : Yes ! if the roots are pro- 

 tected by ashes or leaves after plants have finished 

 flowering. They will carry through the winter just 

 as well as Pompons. 



The best results are obtained with these varieties 

 where they have been lifted before the ground is frozen 

 solid and put into a cold-frame or some such place 

 where they will have a chance to start into growth in 

 good season in the spring. When the plants have so 

 started they should be broken up or cuttings taken 

 from them, and these, after being rooted, should be 

 planted out in new soil, about a foot apart. This 

 method will be found very much superior to leaving 

 the stools stay in the same position year after year, and 

 people who have never grown Pompons in this man- 

 ner have little conception of the increased size of 

 flower and foliage that will result. 



If the plants are set out then in good season in the 

 spring in the manner described, and pinched once or 

 twice, they will commence to make nice bushes and, 

 given a good proportion of water and fair treatment, 

 they will give the cultivator more flowers and satis- 



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faction than anything else with an equal amount of 

 care. 



Some of the newer varieties, such as Petite Louis, 

 Cranford Pink and Yellow: Jimmie, Madam Marques, 

 etc., etc., can be disbudded any time after the middle 



