60 



THE FLORISTS MANUAL. 



Of all the discouraging diseases we 

 have to fight, the rust is the worst. It 

 is a fungus and quickly spreads. The 

 underside of the leaf has a varnished 

 appearance and the sides of the leaf 

 begin to curl under. When pressing the 

 two sides together the leaf does not bend 

 but cracks. If badly affected the flower 

 is worthless. It does not usually ap 

 pear till middle or late in September, 

 when we get cool nights, and is encour 

 aged by dampness. We have again no 

 ticed that it usually begins near a door. 

 That dampness or stagnant water lying 

 around on the floor is a fruitful cause 

 of it we have had ample proof years 

 ago. There is a good deal of difference 

 between the moisture created by a spray 

 ing in a well drained and well venti 

 lated house and the dampness of a poorly 

 drained and poorly ventilated one. Some 

 varieties can resist this rust much bet 

 ter than others, but if it once gets a 

 good foothold and conditions are fa 

 vorable for its spreading, any variety 

 will succumb. Bordeaux mixture is the 

 usual remedy, and if you think the con 

 ditions in your house are favorable for 

 the appearance of rust begin when the 

 plants are small and spray with Bor 

 deaux or ammoniacal mixture every two 

 weeks. With a dry, well drained house, 

 no sharp draughts, plenty of ventila 

 tion and no moisture on the foliage dur 

 ing night, you will not likely see any 

 rust. 



Chrysanthemums want no shade, even 

 in our hottest months, and the yellow 

 and white varieties want none at any 

 time, but the red and pink fade under 

 bright sun and should, to retain their 

 bright colors, have a slight shade as 

 soon as the buds begin to open. A 

 light shade of naphtha and white lead 

 will do for this. It can be syringed on, 

 but can be put on much better with a 

 whitewash brush with a long handle. 



Disbudding. 



Occasionally you see a bench of 

 plants grown for sprays of cut flowers. 

 Tney are usually free-flowering, compact 

 growing kinds. The pompon varieties 

 are beautiful as natural sprays and this 

 is what they are grown for. When sorts 

 like Ivory are grown for sprays they are 

 usually pinched or stopped once and then 

 let grow naturally. When grown to a 

 single stem, either one stem or two or 

 three stems to a plant, it is the intention 

 to have one flower to a stem. 



Plants that are heavily fed or mulched, 

 ^and all more or less, as the flowering 

 time approaches send up growths from 

 the roots, suckers or slotting, as it is 

 called. They should be removed and all 

 lateral growths on the stems should be 

 removed, leaving only the central lead 

 ing growth. The crown buds with us 

 usually begin to show from August 20 

 to middle of September. The crown bud 

 so called is not generally what the com 

 mercial florist wants unless he is growing 

 for exhibition, or if he finds some variety 

 does easily and uniformly well. The 

 crown bud appears on the top of the 

 growth and is alone, not surrounded with 

 other buds, but surrounded with other 

 growths, what Mr. Smith calls &quot;vegeta 



tive growth.&quot; If this crown bud is 

 selected, then of course all growths must 

 be pinched off and the strength of the 

 plant will nourish that bud. If you de 

 stroy that crown bud select the strongest 

 of the lateral growths and shortly it will 

 lengthen out and develop a cluster of 

 buds, usually a center one and three 

 surrounding it. This is called a terminal 

 bud, and if the center of this group of 

 buus is perfect the other three should as 

 soon as large enough to handle be rubbed 

 off. Mr. Smith suggests most sensibly 

 that instead of designating these buds 

 crown and terminal, which is 

 ambiguous and not descriptive, they be 

 called respectively &quot;single&quot; and * clus 

 ter&quot; bud. The objection to crown buds 

 for the ordinary commercial man is that 

 many colored varieties are inclined to 

 come off color and frequently they have 

 long bare necks. For exhibition pur 

 poses the crown bud has size, earliness 

 and many petals. However, the terminal 

 bud is generally suited to our wants. 

 At all times till flowers are cut should 

 all lateral growths be kept removed. 



Cutting. 



All flowers should be cut and placed 

 in water at least eighteen hours before 

 being put on the counter or shipped to 



they arrive at their destination as per 

 fect as when they were cut. 



Unless with the very early blooms 

 where a fancy price is obtainable, all 

 flowers should be well developed. An 

 immature flower will wilt quicker than 

 one fully out. 



It is an advantage if you have to 

 put several varieties on the same bench 

 that they be all early or mid-season or 

 late or planted in such arrangement that 

 the bench can be cleared out as you 

 cut, for you are often very pressed for 

 room about this time. 



Pot Chrysanthemums. 



I believe there is only one way to 

 profitably grow a moderate-sized, healthy 

 pot plant, that will keep its foliage and 

 really be respectable in November. 

 Choose healthy, young plants, that have 

 been propagated in April. If they have 

 been stopped once and are in 3-inch pots, 

 so much the better. By the middle of 

 June you will have some vacant benches 

 to spare by the clearing of bedding 

 plants, or you may throw away a bench 

 of carnations. Five or six inches of soil 

 on the bench will do, and even if it has 

 grown carnations the previous winter, is 

 good enough, with the addition of bone 

 flour and a little rotted manure. 



Chrysanthemum Midge as a Pot Plant. 



the retailer. Varieties that easily drop 

 their petals, as some of the most beauti 

 ful do, and yet desirable, should be in 

 water thirty-six hours. This will harden 

 the flowers and hold the petals. If the 

 flowers are to be shipped it is time well 

 spent to pack with the greatest care so 



Plant fifteen to eighteen inches apart. 

 They will make fine growth during 

 summer and should liave all their growths 

 stopped at least twice before lifting. 

 You have them under perfect control 

 by this method, and can keep them 

 watered and syringed, as well as keeping 



