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THE CULTURE OF THE CHRYSANTHEMUM. 



CHAPTER VII. 

 SINGLE CHRYSANTHEMUMS FOR POT CULTURE. 



Within the last few years single chrysanthemums have 

 become universally popular, and are admired everywhere. 

 They are so graceful and light that for vases or table 

 decoration they have few equals, especially during the 

 autumn and dull winter months. I have raised and dis- 

 tributed a good many singles, although a few years ago 

 I was told to throw them on the rubbish heap, as there 

 was "not enough money in them." However, I felt cer- 

 tain that others would come to see them as I did, so I 

 persevered, and now we sell as many singles as we do 

 Japanese. It is a pity to disbud the small singles, 

 although with some of the larger flowering kinds one good 

 perfect flower is preferable to what would otherwise be a 

 cluster of deformed blooms crowding each other out of 

 shape. 



When raising singles for distribution I generally select 

 those with the flowers nicely separated on the spray (as 

 shown in the illustrations of Kate Carter and Firebrand), 

 rather than those which have all the flowers close together 

 at the top, although the latter are generally the best for 

 disbudding to one flower on a stem. 



From July to February. 



Some sorts of single chrysanthemums begin flowering 

 in July; others follow on, and flowers can be had up to 

 the end of February. When cut, certain varieties will 

 shoot out below, give a number of small sprays, and keep 

 flowering away for some time. These can be grown in 

 many ways as bush plants, or as trained specimens, in 

 the same way that I have advised for others. I would 

 recommend all who have a few spare feet of ground to 

 plant singles for cut flowers out of doors; or they may be 

 lifted and plunged in the greenhouse, or potted and 

 brought in after the large flowering ones are over. 



