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Sbi'O'kmber 2, 1915. 



The Florists^ Review 



17 



BUD SELECTION. 



Perplexing Phraseology. 



The chrysanthemum is often a source 

 of perplexity to the beginner in flori- 

 culture, on account of the confusing 

 phraseology regarding buds. He reads 

 about crown and terminal buds', or else 

 he reads that he should take the bud 

 August 10, 20, or 30, as the case may 

 be; when the particular date comes 

 around and he looks for a bud, but fails 

 to find one, he wonders what he should 

 do. I shall briefly describe the differ- 

 ence in the buds. 



Assuming that the plants have been 

 set out in May or early June, they will 

 produce a bud in July. This is known 

 as the first break, crown bud, or sum- 

 mer bud, and on practically all varie- 

 ties is ignored. Immediately around 

 this tiny bud are three or more growth 

 shoots, of which the grower selects the 

 best looking one or two, according to 

 the number of flowers he wishes per 

 plant, and carries them along. 



When the plant is permitted to run 

 along in this manner, it will make an- 

 other bud from the middle to the end 

 of August. This also is called a crown 

 bud, and has the same growth shoots 

 surrounding it. If this bud appears 

 the latter part of August — the last 

 week, for instance — it is perfectly safe 

 to take it in almost any section of the 

 country. Expert growers in the north- 

 ern districts, or where the climate is 

 cool and moist, will often, if this bud 

 appears around August 1, hold it and 

 get wonderful flowers from it. In the 

 hot, dry valleys, a bud taken before 

 August 20 would be too early, and 

 would not produce a perfect flower. 



Modified Crown and Terminal. 



Some varieties, if the crown bud is 

 not retained at the end of August, will 

 produce another bud after September 

 15, which may be termed a modified 

 crown, since, while it has growth shoots 

 surrounding it as in the previous case, 

 the shoots only make a growth of four 

 or five inches and then produce the 

 terminal bud. This modified crown, as 

 it is termed, is always a perfectly safe 

 bud, though it will not produce flowers 

 of a size and depth that an earlier 

 crown will, provided it has not been 

 taken too early. 



The last bud the plant produces is 

 called the terminal bud, because it is 

 the terminus or finish of growth and 

 no bud is produced after that. The 

 terminal bud is easily identified as the 

 central one of a cluster of smaller buds. 

 If the grower wishes to have flowers 

 as late in the season as possible, he se- 

 lects late varieties, such as Brock, 

 Chadwick or Nonin, and pinches out 

 the buds in succession as they appear, 

 until he gets the terminal bud. In 

 some varieties it will appear in Sep- 



tember, while in others it is quite late 

 in October. By keeping the plants as 

 cool as he reasonably can, he is as- 

 sured of late flowers, from Thanksgiv- 

 ing to Christmas. 



Element of Time. 



Where the instructions read, "Take 

 the bud August 20," and there is no 

 bud in sight at that time, it means 

 the grower should take the bud that 

 next appears after that date. In case 

 the bud shows, we will say, August 15, 

 and the instructions from the specialist 

 read that a bud taken from August 

 20 to 25 would be safe, this bud can 

 be retained and carried along by per- 

 mitting the growth shoots to make 

 enough growth to produce one leaf. 

 This will check the sap's flowing di- 

 rectly into the bud, and the bud will 

 not starve sufficiently to cause it to 

 dry up. At the end of a given time 

 the shoots can be removed one by one, 

 and the bud will come along and pro- 

 duce a perfect flower. Where the bud 

 appears at the right time and looks 

 perfect, the shoots or buds surround- 



ing it should be removed at the earliest 

 possible opportunity, in order to throw 

 all the strength of the plant into the 

 future flower. If the side buds or 

 shoots are allowed to get quite large, 

 because the grower is too busy with 

 other work to remove them, just so 

 much energy has been taken from the 

 plant and gone to waste. 



Pompons and Singlea 



The above remarks on buds apply to 

 the large-flowering varieties. Pom- 

 pons and singles can be left to take 

 care of themselves until the final dis- 

 budding. The plants will make one or 

 two breaks, or early buds, depending 

 somewhat on the length of time they 

 have been growing, and will grow on, 

 increasing the quantity of shoots with 

 each break, until they produce the final 

 crop of buds. These can then be 

 thinned out at the discretion of the 

 cultivator, to one or more flowers (as 

 in the case of the large flowers) if the 

 grower chooses, though in the case of 

 the hardy types the sprays of flowers 

 are more attractive than the individ- 

 ual blooms. Charles H. Totty. 



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DISEASE DUE TO HUMIDITY. 



I am sending under separate cover 

 some geranium leaves, so that you may 

 examine them and tell me what is the 

 trouble with them. Several of my best 

 plants have been affected in this way 

 and I have been unable to do anything 

 to check the disease. It seems to 

 spread to the other plants. Please let 

 me know how to remedy this trouble. 



M. D. P.— Ohio. 



The foliage when received was so 

 badly decomposed that I could not tell 

 what the disease was. I think it prob- 

 able that your plants, in common with 

 those of many other growers, are at- 

 tacked with a fungoid growth due to 

 the excessive humidity of the present 

 season. This disease is common during 

 spells of hot, sultry weather, when 

 fogs or rainfalls are plentiful and the 

 foliage remains more or less damp, 

 sometimes for several successive days. 

 In dry weather it disappears. All you 

 can do is to pick off the worst affected 

 foliage. Sprayings with Bordeaux or 

 Fungme help in some measure, but 

 both disfigure the foliage more or less. 



':*??'- * '■ 



Geraniums that are thinly planted or 

 well elevated in boxes or vases, where 

 the air will circulate through them 

 and keep the foliage dry, are seldom at- 

 tacked. The spot appears under glass 

 as well as outdoors and it is there 

 caused by a too stuffy, humid at- 

 mosphere, by keeping the plants too 

 damp at the roots and by excessive 

 syringing. Maintain a dry, buoyant 

 atmosphere; do not shade at all; ven- 

 tilate freely and let the plants dry out 

 well between waterings; then your 

 trouble will disappear. C. W. 



FEENS WITH GERANIUMS. 



Would Boston ferns do well in a 

 greenhouse in which geraniums are 

 kept in winter for flower beds in the 

 spring! What is the right tempera- 

 ture for geraniums and for calla lilies? 

 A. L. — Mo. 



Boston ferns will grow well in a 

 geranium temperature. To have them 

 of a dark green color, they need some 

 shade. A night temperature of 45 to 

 50 degrees suits geraniums. Callas in 

 winter should have 10 degrees ntore 

 heat. 0. W. 



