28 



The Florists' Review 



NOVEMBBR 10, 1921 



CROSSING CHRYSANTHEMUMS. 



Search for New Varieties. 



In the interesting and sometimes try- 

 ing work of growing flowers, there is 

 nothing more fascinating than the hy- 

 bridizing and raising of new varieties. 

 There is a certain element of chance 

 about hybridizing; and yet men who 

 otherwise would not put one cent on a 

 game of chance will devote whole 

 benches to the raising of seedlings and 

 feel well repaid if they get one improve- 

 ment over existing varieties. 



"While the cross-breeding of most 

 plants, and of chrysanthemums in par- 

 ticular, is a simple matter, there are a 

 great many florists who have never 

 taken it up and to them there may be 

 some points of interest in this paper. 



If you are a small grower and feel 

 you cannot devote the necessary space 

 to seedlings of chrysanthemums or 

 other varieties of cut flowers, try cross- 

 ing a few geraniums or begonias. You 

 will find them as interesting to work 

 with and as hard to improve upon as any 

 of the other flowers and you will be 

 able to dispose of the plants you do not 

 wish to retain. 



Patience Needed. 



Remember you are starting in where 

 other men have left off after years of 

 effort, and if your first attempt does not 

 meet with the success you think it 

 should, don't be discouraged. The fault 

 may be with something over which you 

 have no control; for instance, a spell of 

 cloudy or rainy weather right after you 

 have made your crosses. If, on the other 

 hand, you should get satisfactory re- 

 sults with your first attempt, do not stop 

 crossing, for the plant you think is just 

 about perfect is sure to develop a num- 

 ber of faults you will want to work out. 

 Generally speaking, three or four years 

 is about the shortest time in which you 

 can expect to produce a new chrysan- 

 themum and put it on the market. 



To be successful in plant breeding, 

 you should have a systematic plan as 

 well as an abundance of patience and :i 

 real liking for your work. If you are 

 scientifically inclined, you may have 

 formed a theory about hybridizing that 

 you will want to prove, or you may be a 

 grower with an ideal you wish to attain. 

 In either case the start will be the same. 



Choosing Varieties. 



The chrysanthemum in its native 

 state was single and reproduced by self- 

 fertilizcd seed. While this is a simple 

 method nature has for perpetuating lier 

 flower kingdom, it does not improve the 

 race as does carefully selected hand pol- 

 linating. I^ike most of our other cut 

 flowers, the chrysanthemum when 

 crossed has a tendency to revert to type, 

 and you can expect fully ninety per cent 

 of your seedlings to be unfit for growing 



Paper on "H.vbri<lizlng Chrysiinlhomnms." rend 

 by Edw.ird Ijirscn, of Hniir & Stpinknnip. In 

 (lianapolis. t«>for<' the meetinR of the IiidhinM 

 State Florists' As»o<iation at Indianiipolis. No- 

 vpmber 1. 



the second year. In selecting your 

 plants for crossing you will have the 

 whole list of commercial varieties from 

 which to choose; and while you cannot 

 feel sure as to the result of your cross, 

 you can, to a certain extent, control 

 such characters as growth, color and 

 time of flowering by crossing varieties 

 of like habits. This should not lead you 

 to think that all you have to do to pro- 

 cure the finest yellow ever is to cross 

 William Turner with Major Bonnaffon, 

 for often the seemingly most desirable 

 combinations of varieties produce the 

 most disappointing results. In crossing 

 two different varieties you are dealing 

 with many unknown factors in both va- 

 rieties; and it is a peculiar fact with 

 other flowers as well as mums that the 

 highest achievement of the hybridist 

 seems incapable of imparting its good 

 qualities to its offspring. With mums 

 this can be overcome to some extent by 

 carefully observing from your seedlings 

 which varieties seem most receptive of 

 the good qualities of the pollen parent 

 and then using these varieties for tho 

 seed parent. 



Pink Hard to Produce. 



Pink of a good, clear color seems to be 

 the hardest to produce, but by making 

 several crosses of pink varieties and cross- 

 ing the good colored ones resulting for 

 several years, you can obtain a large per 

 cent of this shade in your seedlings. 

 However, sooner or later you will want 

 to cross some of these with another 

 color to get a desired form or growth 

 and then you are back to where you 

 started, so far as a fixed color is con- 

 cerned. 



Almost all pompons are free seeders, 

 while the large exhibition varieties 

 when grown at their best are difficult to 

 cross-fertilize and some are absolutely 

 barren so far as seed is concerned, al- 

 though the pollen from such flowers is 

 all right for crossing. 



About the middle of June select the 

 varieties you think will combine the 

 characteristics you wish to have in your 

 crosses and shift into 3-inch pots and 

 later into 5-inch. These plants should 

 be grown rather on the dry side, without 

 much feeding. Grown this way, tlic 

 flowers will not be so double and you 

 will have a healthy, stocky plant, better 

 fitted to produce good, plump seed. Grow 

 these plants to a single terminal growth, 

 pinching out the center bud, allowing 

 three or four of the surrounding buds to 

 develop, but be careful that they do 

 not touch one another. In this way you 

 can secure several crosses on one plant. 



Pollenizing. 



When the buds have developed to the 

 stage where the petals are about half 

 grown, take a sharp knife and cut them 

 off about one-half inch from the base. 

 This will expose the pistil in the base 

 of the petal and give it a chance to de- 

 velop. The florets in the center of the 

 flower should be carefully cut off below 

 the stamens, in order to remove tlie 

 pollen before it develops and thus pre- 

 vent self fertilizing. 



After the flowers are trimmed, set 

 them in a sunny position, where no drip 

 or other moisture can come in contact 

 with the blooms. 



Tho hybridizer should have at least a 

 half dozen camel 's-hair brushes, as it is 

 not advisable to use the same brush 

 twice for different crosses unless it has 

 been washed and dried. 



When the pistil has developed and 

 the stigma has taken on a velvety ap- 

 pearance, it is ready for pollinating. 

 If possible, this should be done on a 

 bright day, as the pollen is more active 

 in bright weather. Select the flower you 

 wish for the pollen parent, separate the 

 petals, gather the pollen on your brush, 

 and transfer it to the .stigma of your 

 seed plant. If all conditions are right, 

 you may expect to get some seed from 

 all your crosses. However, the earlier 

 pollinated flowers generally produce the 

 most seed, owing, no doubt, to the more 

 favorable weather at this time. 



Care of Seedlings. 



The plants should be watered rather 

 sparingly after crossing and kept in a 

 dry atmosphere. Chrysanthemum seed 

 ripens slowly and it will be six to eight 

 weeks before it is ready to gather. 

 Should some of the seed seem shriveled, 

 do not throw it away, as it is sometimes 

 hard to separate the good seed from the 

 chaff. The seed should be sown in a 

 good, clean soil, in shallow boxes, about 

 March 1; and placed in a carnation tem- 

 perature. Be careful in watering, as the 

 young seedlings will damp off if they 

 get too wet. 



Do not be in a hurry to throw the seed 

 boxes out, as the seed sometimes germi- 

 nates rather slowly. The best plants, 

 however, generally come from the seed 

 that germinates first. When the seed- 

 lings have made their second leaves, 

 they should be potted in 2-inch pots and 

 from this time on until they bloom the 

 following fall the plants should have no 

 check. The pompons may be growp into 

 sprays, but the large-flowered ones 

 should be carefully disbudded and 

 grown to a terminal bud, in order to ob- 

 tain the best flowers possible. 



Judge Impartially. 



After having worked the calendar 

 round, you will begin to see the fruits 

 of your labor. When the buds are show- 

 ing color and the flowers are developing, 

 there is nothing more interesting than 

 to watch them bloom. As the flowers 

 develop, you will have to decide which 

 ones you wish to keep for growing the 

 second year. Right here is where it will 

 be necessary to watch yourself so as not 

 to load up your place with a lot of 

 worthless varieties. Compare your seed- 

 lings impartially with standard varie- 

 ties that bloom at the same time and if 

 yours do not stand the test discard 

 them. 



After observing a batch of seedlings 

 bloom, you will be convinced that the 

 mere crossing of the chrysanthemum is 

 simple. It is the combination of various 

 varieties that will open a wide field for 

 study and show you that while there 

 have been many improvements in chrys- 

 anthemums in the last few years, there 

 are still great possibilities, especially in 

 our early and late varieties. So, though 

 at times the results of your crossing 

 may not be quite what you expected, 

 by careful observation and keeping 

 fverlastingly at it, you will be able to 

 improve upon the varieties we now 

 have. 



