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310 BEAUTIFUL FLOWEKS 



be dwarfer and more spreading; they will have more branches. 

 As a rule they will not require any further manipulation in 

 order to make them into neat plants, but they may be pinched 

 again at a later stage if necessary. 



If buds show at the tips of the shoots early in summer they 

 should be pinched out, except in the case of plants which are 

 desired to bloom early. We will presently name some varieties 

 t that are naturally early bloomers, and 



others which will flower later. 



When, with the flowering season ap- 

 proaching, buds are allowed to remain, 

 the question will arise as to whether all 

 which form should be allowed to expand, 

 or whether the clusters should be thinned. 

 It all depends on whether the grower's 

 principal object is a handsome plant or a 

 large quantity of flowers for cutting. If 

 the former, he may thin the buds, allow- 

 ing about a dozen flowers to each plant ; 

 if the latter, he may allow all the 

 buds to remain. Disbudding, it should 

 be remembered, means fewer and larger 

 flowers. 



CHRYSANTHEMUMS STOPPING TO 

 FORM BUSHES, &c. 



A, main stem pinched; B, B, B, re- 

 sultant side shoots; C, C, C, C 



A plan that is adopted by some growers is to allow plants to 

 develop on one stem until the end of May, and then cut them 

 down to within a few inches of the pot. This dwarfs the plants, 

 and they will still produce large flowers if they are restricted to 

 three shoots and crown buds are taken ; if not, they will make 

 nice bushes. The upper part of the severed branch can be treated 

 as a cutting and struck. Plants raised thus in May, or even up 

 to the end of July, make very useful short material for standing 

 in front of groups of tall plants and hiding the large pots with a 

 screen of foliage and flowers. 



