CHR YSANTHEMl M CUL TV RE. 



about eighteen or twenty inches apart. 

 The ground should be very loose and 

 rich, should be made level so the water 

 will not run off, and before the dry 

 weather sets in be carefully mulched. 

 The plants should be pinched back 

 when about six inches high, and again 

 when the new branches are three or four 

 inches long. 



This twice pinching will probably 

 keep the plants sufficiently bushy, but 

 an occasional other pinching may be 

 necessary to keep them in proper shape. 



They will need stakes almost or quite 

 as soon as planted out, not so much 

 to prevent breaking as to prevent being 

 switched about by the wind. They 

 must be carefully watched for either the 

 black or green aphis ; the aphis may be 

 extermined or kept at bay, either by 

 hand picking and the careful use of a 

 proper brush, of by the use of either 

 tobacco water or kerosene emulsion. 



If specimen flowers are desired pick 

 off all the buds as they appear except 

 the terminal, or the best one for each 

 branch You may thus have ten to 

 twenty or more splendid specimen 

 flowers to each plant. But if you prefer 

 to leave all the buds you may have very 

 showy plants, though the flowers will be 

 smaller and less perfect. 



Before severe frosts they should be 

 lifted and placed in ten or twelve inch 

 pots or boxes. Water well and place 

 in the shade for a few days. Be careful 

 that the change from out door to indoor 

 life is not too sudden. Unless good 

 health be preserved they are liab'e to be 

 attacked by insects or by mold. Manure 

 water may be used two or three times a 

 week, whenever the plants are in a 

 thrifty growing condition, but not other- 

 wise. Instead of setting your plants 

 out in the open ground in the latter part 

 of May, it is equally as well, and per- 

 haps better, to retain them in pots and 

 plunge for the summer. 



Repot in good rich soil, using this 

 time, six or seven inch pots. Dig a 

 a trench deep enough for plunging 

 them, and till the bottom with coal ashes 

 to keep angle worms out, then set the 

 pots upon this, about eighteen inches 

 apart, and fill the trench about them to 

 the rims. In selecting a place for these 

 pots remember sunshine and shelter as 

 when planting out in open ground. 



Pots plunged in this way need careful 

 watching lest they get too dry. 



Examine early in July and if the pots 

 are nearly filled with roots lake them up 

 and transfer to eight or ten inch pots 

 and plunge as before. Perhaps by early 

 in August they will be nearly filled with 

 roots again, but now it will be better not 

 to repot again, but instead furnish plenty 

 of manure water or other stimulants, 

 They will require the same attention in 

 regard to pinching, disbudding, etc., as 

 if in the open ground. By thus grow- 

 ing them continuously in pots we do not 

 get quite so much foliage, but we avoid 

 the shock of taking up and potting in 

 the fall. And I think we have more 

 and perhaps better flowers. 



Besides these two methods of grow- 

 ing the chrysanthemum there are three 

 others that perhaps deserve to be men- 

 tioned. The first is to simply retain 

 the old plants or roots and grow them 

 in large tubs or boxes from year to year. 

 Numerous stems and a great show of 

 imperfectly developed flowers are thus 

 obtained. 



The second plan is to divide and 

 plant parts of the old bunch of roots. 

 This is similar to the first, but better, as 

 the stems are less crowded and the 

 flowers somewhat more perfect. 



The third method consists in select- 

 ing shapely branches near the ground 

 and laying them some time in August 

 or early in September. When rooted 

 they are separated from the parent plant 



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