CHRYSANTHEMUM 



CHRYSANTHEMUM 



309 



Many of the midseason varieties i 

 giving and after if planted late. 



Subsecti< 



iiltle to ex- 

 ilii. lii.rticul- 

 l.jiiiiu-.and to 

 'P.. iiiret a de- 

 late varieties, 

 the most prizes 

 r. Niveus, The 

 Yellow— M&ior 



ire good for Thanks- 

 Eljier D. Smith. 

 -Culture of Chrysanthemums for 



E.rhihilio,,. 



This branch of ciiltiv;Lti<.ii naturally requires more 

 care than any other, and tlie cultural side counts for 

 very little compared with the personal qualities of the 

 exhibitor after the fls. are delivered at the exhibition 

 hall. Prize-winning is more like business than floricul- 

 ture, and is, tlirivf..r.-, largely a, matter of exi.fricnce. 

 It is hai-ii fo rxlricalc- any fuiidanic-ntal prinriples. but 

 some sn'4^''sti.iiix arc mad.- niidi-r l-J.rliihil i,,,is . JIany 

 towns have never seen any kind of a Howir sliow but a 

 Chrysanthemum show. The prizes are often larger and 

 more specialized than with any other flower. As soon as 

 the schedule of prizes is published the competitor 

 should pick out the classes he intends to try for. The 

 importance of strong stock can hardly be overstated. 

 Novelties or highly forced plants are more likely to 

 give poor results than selected stock carefully grown by 

 the enni|h liinr Innisclf. Next to a general comprehen- 

 sion of i 'liiysanilnniiim culture, perhaps the two most 

 important I'aiic.is in success are the quality of stock and 

 the choice of variety. In the biggest exhibitions, novel- 

 ties are classed by themselves. One of the commonest 

 mistakes that beginners make is to depend too much 

 upon novelties for general prizes. ] 

 change visits with other growers, t 

 tural periodicals, to master the art 

 study the analysis of successful vari 

 sired date, crown buds can bensi-d t.il 



As the century closes the varirtir^ ili: 

 are: ITAifc-Mrs. Henry Rol.inv...i, M 

 Queen. Mrs. .Jerome Jones, Our Mutual J 



Bonnaflfon, Modesto. W. H. Lincohi. (ioUlen Wedding, Miss 

 Georgiana Pitcher : Piji*-— Viviand-Morel, Mrs. Perrin, Maud 

 Dean; ifcd— Geo. W. Childs. W. M. 



SECTION II.-CULTURE OF MARGUERITE.S INDOORS. 

 There are two types of Marguerites, the common one, 

 or Paris Daisy, with coarser green foliage, and the 

 glaucous Marguerites, with finer cut, glaucous foliage. 

 The former, C. friitesc^^ns, is better for cut-flowers. 

 The latter, C. iDietliifoliniii. is probably better for large 

 specimens. Margtierites are standard plants with flo- 

 rists and in the conservatories of amateurs, being of 

 easy culture and remarkably free from enemies. They 

 are cultivated for two distinct purposes, — for cut-flow- 

 ers and for specimen plants, young plants being used 

 for the former purpose, and older ones for the lat- 

 ter. For cut-flowers, the cuttings are rooted in spring, 

 and the florists tistially keep the plants in pots all sum- 

 mer outdoors, tbougli tliis isnut nrcrssary for amateurs, 

 and fls. are produced during tin' fnlluwiTig winter. It is 

 sometimes said that Marguerites dn n<if lift well in the 

 fall after being planted out all summer in the garden, 

 and that unrestricted root-room makes the plants too 

 large for the best production of cut-flowers. The prin- 

 ciples underlying the matter are as fcdlows : 

 plants out of j'ots into tin- n]n-n gmurnl in 

 spring, a plant that lias tilled its pot well 

 with roots tends to make a much nuire 

 compact root-system in the garden than the 

 plant that had but a few roots in its pot, 

 and the former plant is easily lifted in the 

 fall and with less damage to the roots. As 

 a matter of fact. Marguerites do not belong 

 to the class of plants that are difficult to lift 

 in the fall, and it is only a matter of start- 

 ing the cuttings early enough in spring to 

 get the plant moderately pot-bound before 

 it is planted out into the open ground. 

 Specimen plants are most attractive in the 

 second winter following the spring in whitdi 

 cuttings were struck. After that they are 

 likely to become too large and straggling. 

 While in the garden the fls. should not he 

 allowed to form, if the main object is high- 

 grade cut-flowers in quantity for the winter. 

 Old plants that are unfit for further use in 

 the conservatory may be turned out in sum 



mer and will furnish scattering bloom all 



summer, though the fls. are likely to be 458. Suggestion ior protecting Chrysanthemums that are to bloom outdoors 



rather small. If there were sufflcient demand it could 

 be easily managed to have fls. in every month of the 

 year. It is a great pity to cut Marguerites without any 

 foliage. The rule is that all fls. look best with some fo- 

 liage, especially their own. With a little forethought, 

 just as many "fls. can be secured, and they will look 

 much prettier and last longer. There are very few con- 

 servatories without some Marguerites. An excellent 

 plan is to have a number of plants in 6-inch pots from 

 cuttings struck the previous spring. A plant looks 

 bad at first wln-n the fls. li.ivr b.rn nnn.vcd .)u sprays 

 afoot long, but in a slnn-t tiui.' ili. v ,iic i-..,i.lv for cut- 

 ting again. With a llltlr niauau'cnirnl a -iirr.ssion of 

 fls. can be maintained without making all tlie plants 

 thin or unsightly. Such sprays will last a week or two 

 in water, and the opening of the larger buds is an addi- 

 tional feature of beauty which is lost if fls. are cut with, 

 short stems and without foliage. Robert Shore. 



SECTION III.-CULTUKE OF CHRYSANTHEMUMS 

 OUT OP DOORS. 



The oldest of the outdoor types are the Pompons 

 (Fig. 450), which produce from 40-100 buttons an inch 

 or two across, with short and regular rays. Such plants 

 can be left outdoors all winter. A selection of these old- 

 fashioned kinds is given on page 307, under head of " (8) 

 Pompon." Since the large-flowering or .Jap<anese types 

 have come in, numberless attempts have bei-n made to 

 grow them outdoors, but with poor results. Tlu- green- 

 house varieties are not so hardy. In the north they are 

 likely to be killed by the winter. Their fls. usually lack 

 in size, depth and symmetry, largely because there are 

 more of them on a plant than a florist allows for his best 

 blooms, but chiefly bi'i-ause they do not get as TiLuch care 

 in general as is gixeu lo j.lants umbr irhiss, where 

 space is precious. For tln-xery besi results, Chrysan- 

 themums must be flowered under glass, and they need 

 the greatest care and forethought practically all the 

 year round. Half-way meastires are unsatisfactory. 

 Thus it happens that the Japanese varieties are usually 

 unsatisfactory out of doors, and the Pompons are chosen 

 by those who can give very little care to plants and 

 would rather have many small fls. than a few large ones. 

 This also partly explains why no two dealers recommend 

 anything like the same list of Japanese varieties for 

 outdoor ctilture. Nevertheless, it is possible to grow ex- 

 cellent fls. 4 and 5 or even 6 in. across outdoors, but it 

 requires staking, disbudding, and some kind of tem- 

 porary protection, as of a tent or glass, during frosty 

 weather. Fig. 4.'58 shows a cheap and simple structtire 

 of coldframe sashes resting on a temporary framework. 

 In severe weather a canvas curtain can be dropped in 

 front, and the window of a warm cellar in the rear 

 opened to temper the air. Fig. 458 is taken from Gar- 

 den and Forest 1 :.Vj:;. win re ,1. N. (ierard lias left a de- 



in turning 



tailed and di 

 sure to rouse 

 general outdo 



iu'litt 



■ uiit of Ills sin ris», which is 

 isni of ,.x|.,Tt amaieurs. For 

 ulture. however, wliere no special care 



