764 



CHRYSANTHEMUM 



CHRYSANTHEMUM 



954. The terminal bud. 



planted on old carnation benches or in spent hotbeds 

 (light soil preferable), and lifted by August 15, will 

 make very good plants 1 to IK feet high. The reason 

 for lifting early is to have them well established in 

 their flowering pots before the buds are formed. 



2. Single-stem plants. Same culture as market 

 plants, except that they are restricted to one stem and 

 flower. Those from 1 to 2 feet 

 in height are more effective 

 and useful than tall ones. For 

 this reason, many prefer plung- 

 ing the pots out-of-doors where 

 they have the full benefit of 

 the sun and air, making them 

 more dwarf than when grown 

 under glass. 



3. Pot-plants for cut-flowers. 

 Culture same as for speci- 

 men plants, except that the 

 nipping should be discontinued 

 July 1 to give sufficient length 

 to the stems. If large flowers 

 are. desired, restrict the plants 

 to eight or ten growths. Such 

 plants can be accommodated 

 in less space than specimens, 

 when the chief object is symmetry. 



4. Bush plants. For large bush plants, the cuttings 

 should be struck early in February, and grown along 

 in a cool airy house, giving attention to repotting as 

 often as necessary. The final potting into 10- or 12- 

 inch pots generally takes place in June. They are 

 potted moderately firm, and watered sparingly until 

 well rooted. As soon as the plants are 5 or 6 inches 

 high the tips should be pinched out, to induce several 

 growths to start. As the season advances and the 

 plants make rapid growth, pinching must be attended 

 to every day up to the latter part of July, to give as 

 many breaks as possible and keep them in symmetrical 

 form. By the middle of August (if not previously 

 attended to), staking and getting the plants in shape 

 will be a very important detail. If stakes are used, 

 they must be continually tied-out, as the stems soon 

 begin to harden, and this work can be best accom- 

 plished by looking them over daily. Light stakes of 

 any material may be used. Many other methods are 

 in use, such as wire hoops and wire framework, to 

 which the growths are securely tied. 



5. Standards differ from bush plants in having one 

 stout self-supporting stem, instead of many stems. 

 They require the same culture as bush plants, with the 

 exception that they are not stopped, but allowed to 

 make one continuous growth until 3, 4 or 5 feet high, 

 and are then treated the same as bush plants. They 

 require the same attention as to stopping and tying to 

 secure symmetrical heads. 



6. Pyramids are only another form of bush plants, 

 and it is optional with the grower which form he prefers. 



Section III. Culture of chrysanthemums for the 

 production of new varieties. 



The object of seed-saving is the improvement of 

 existing varieties. It is not conclusive, however, that 

 all seedlings will be improvements; in fact, it is far 

 from this, as the greater proportion are inferior to their 

 antecedents. Only those who give the most careful 

 consideration to cross-fertilization are certain of marked 

 success. Hand-hybridized seeds possess value over 

 those haphazardly pollinated by wind and insects only 

 according to the degree of intelligence employed in 

 the selection of parents. What the result will be when 

 a white flower is fertilized with a yellow one, the opera- 

 tor cannot determine at the outset. It may be either 

 white, yellow, intermediate, or partake of some ante- 

 cedent, and thus be distinct from either. Improvements 

 in color can be secured only by the union of colors, 



bearing in mind the laws of nature in uniting two to 

 make the third. Red upon yellow, or vice-versa, may 

 intensify the red or yellow give orange or bronze, as 

 nature may see fit. The operator is more certain of 

 improving along other lines, such as sturdiness or 

 dwarf ness of growth, earliness or lateness of bloom, or 

 doubleness of flowers. The selection of those most 

 perfect in these particulars is very sure to give similar 

 or improved results. Always keep a record of this 

 work showing the parents of a seedling. The satisfac- 

 tion of knowing how a meritorious variety was pro- 

 duced more than pays for the trouble, and may lead to 

 further improvements along certain lines. The opera- 

 tion begins when the flower is half open, cutting the 

 petals off close to their base with a pair of scissors, until 

 the style is exposed. Should the flower show signs of 

 haying disk or staminate florets, remove these with the 

 points of the scissors and thus avoid self-fertilization. 

 When the styles are fully grown and developed, the upper 

 surface or stigma is in condition to receive the pollen. 

 By pushing aside (with the thumb) the ray-florets of 

 the flower desired for pollen, the disk-florets which pro- 

 duce the pollen will become visible. The pollen may be 

 collected on a camel's-hair pencil or toothpick and 

 applied to the stigma of the flower previously prepared. 

 If a toothpick be used, never use it for more than one 

 kind of pollen. By allowing the camel's-hair pencil to 

 stand in an open-mouthed vial of alcohol a few moments 

 after using, it may be again used, when dry, upon 

 another variety without fear of the pollen of the former 

 operation affecting the present. Cuttings struck in 

 June and July and grown to single bloom in 4-inch pots 

 are the most convenient for seeding. Such flowers, if 

 not given too much food are more natural and furnish 

 an abundance of pollen, as well as being easier to trim 

 than the massive blooms produced for the exhibition- 

 table. The pollinating should be done on bright, sunny 

 days, and as early in the day as possible. As soon as 

 the seed plants are trimmed, they should be placed by 

 themselves to avoid fertilization by insects, and should 

 there remain until the seeds are ripe. Keep the plants 

 rather on the dry side, and give abundance of air. 

 Seeds, which ripen in five to six weeks, should be saved 

 without delay, and carefully labelled. In sowing seeds, 



955. Terminal buds of chrysanthemum at an early 

 stage. None too early for disbudding. 



they should be covered very lightly and kept in a 

 tempe/ature of 60. When the seedlings are large 

 enough to handle easily, remove to small pots, or trans- 

 plant farther apart in shallow boxes. Chrysanthemums 

 flower the first season from seed. 



Section IV. Varieties. 



Of the long list of new varieties sent out each year, 

 but few are retained after the second year's trial. This 

 is probably due to the fact that most American growers 

 are more interested in the commercial value of the 

 flower than the curious forms or striking colors they 

 present. Exhibitions have not reached the people here 



