80 



The Weekly Florists^ Review* 



November 29, 1906. 



larger stores. In order to make these 

 exhibitions interesting and profitable new 

 and fancy varieties should also be shown, 

 so the people can compare the colors, 

 size, shape, etc. 



The grower should know the market 

 value of his stock. There is usually a 

 glut on the market at the middle of No- 

 vember, but this should not bring down 

 the price. Too many poor flowers are 

 on the market. 



Many growers cut their blooms before 

 they are well open. They seem to be too 

 anxious to get them on the market. 

 Leave the blooms to develop; they will 

 keep better, sell more readily and com- 

 mand a better price. 



To grow good mums requires more 

 study, time and labor than some give it. 

 Most growers grow too large a variety; 

 a few kinds well grown will bring much 

 better returns. 



The Best Sorts. 



Below is a list of good commercial va- 

 rieties to choose from, all good growers 

 and shippers: 



White — George S. Kaib, Polly Eose, 

 Ivory, Adelia, Arline, White Bonnaffon, 

 Majestic, Jerome Jones and Chadwick. 



Pink — Pacific, Marie Liger, Maud 

 Dean, A. J. Balfour, Wm. Duckham and 

 Dr. Enguehard. 



Yellow— Halliday, H. Hurrell, Major 

 Bonnaffon, Georgiana Pitcher, Yellow 

 Jones, Nagoya and Golden Chadwick. 



White Ivory is, in my estimation, the 

 best all-round white mum we have. It 

 requires less room to grow and, being a 

 good seller, will net more money to the 

 grower than any other. 



Preparing to Propagate. 



After you have decided what to grow 

 for next season, get some good, vigor- 

 ous stock and plant in a suitable place 

 in order to secure healthy cuttings, for 

 here is where the growing of good chrys- 

 anthemums begins. I prefer planting 

 stock plants in a bench. By this method 

 I believe we can secure more and better 

 cuttings. Another good plan, if you 



cuttings. Give plenty of water and pro- 

 tect against the sun, and you will have 

 no trouble striking roots. 



Time to Propagate. 



The time to begin propagating de- 

 pends on the variety. The earliest va- 

 rieties should be propagated early in 

 April and be ready to plant the latter 

 part of May in order to procure good 

 blooms. The midseason ones we propa- 

 gate the first part of May and the very 

 late varieties can be planted the middle 

 of July and, if well taken care of, will 

 produce good blooms. 



Chrysanthemums that are to produce 

 exhibition blooms, good stem and foliage, 

 should all be propagated in March or the 

 first week in April and the very best 

 wood taken for cuttings. Plant in May. 



The space to plant mums will depend 

 on the variety. We all know from ex- 

 perience that more space must be al- 

 lowed' for varieties that have large 

 foliage. 



If single stems are to be grown, such 

 varieties as Ivory, plant 4x5 inches. I 

 prefer single-stemmed plants. This re- 

 quires more plants, but it gives each 

 plant the same advantage and will make 

 better foliage and blooms. 



Soil for Mums. 



My experience is that the soil should 

 be good, stiff soil, not hardpan clay, but 

 good sod put up with cow manure in 

 the fall and turned over in the spring. 



If solid benches are used, see that 

 they are provided with good drainage. 

 Cinders or broken bricks are good. 



I have found that four to five inches 

 of soil is a good depth, as we can con- 

 trol the watering and feeding better 

 than with more soil. Before filling the 

 benches, cover the bottom with air-slaked 

 lime to prevent angleworms from work- 

 ing. 



When ready to plant mark the space 

 off carefully, using some kind of a 

 marker. You will not regret this when 

 it comes to tying up and working be- 

 tween the plants. Plant a bench or 



C. G Pollworth Takes to the 'Woods. 



have the facilities, is to plant the stock 

 out in frames, but be sure and protect 

 from frost. 



There are many ways of propagating 

 chrysanthemums with good results. I 

 have had fairly good success outdoors in 

 hotbeds, but if one has a side bench in 

 a well-ventilated house, I would prefer 

 it instead of a frame. Use good, clean, 

 sharp sand packed well before inserting 



house as near uniformly as circumstances 

 will permit, and use only good, healthy 

 stock. 



Plant firmly, leaving a little basin 

 around each plant to hold water. After 

 a bench is planted, water each plant in- 

 dividually, two or three times, if the 

 soil is dry. This will give each plant the 

 same amount of water and they will 

 make a uniform start and growth. 



After ten days or two weeks, if the 

 soil is loose pound it with a piece of 

 brick. If the soil should happen to bake, 

 give it a half or one inch of top-dress- 

 ing with equal parts of well-rotted cow 

 manure and soil. Working the soil is 

 detrimental to the feeding roots of the 

 plants. 



Tying and Feeding. 



Do not wait with the tying up until 

 the plants fall over. A good scheme, 

 especially with single-stemmed stock, is 

 to run wires overhead above the rows. 

 Then take string and tie to the base of 

 the plant, carrying the string up to the 

 wire. This is all the tying necessary. 

 Every two or three weeks give the stalk 

 a turn around the string. 



The next thing will be to watch the 

 side shoots and suckers. Keep them 

 carefully removed if good blooms are 

 expected. When disbudding time comes 

 one cannot be too careful in dfing this 

 work. We should not take buus when 

 they are too small. If we do, we will 

 injure the bud that should produce the 

 bloom. On the other hand, we should 

 not wait until the buds are too large. 



If the soil was in good condition at 

 the time of planting, not so much feed- 

 ing is necessary, but if it was poor, feed 

 liberally. Do not feed until the buds 

 show up; then sparingly in the begin- 

 ning, stopping when the flowers show 

 color. Feed pink varieties the least, as 

 too much will take out the color. Yel- 

 low will stand more and white can stand 

 the most. 



In regard to fertilizer, I have had 

 best success using pulverizea sheep ma- 

 nure soaked in water and used as a 

 liquid. It helps make a good bloom, 

 stem and foliage. 



Insects and Disease. 



Insects must be destroyed as soon as 

 detected; do not wait until your plants 

 are covered. We all know that the black 

 fly or aphis is the most bothersome in- 

 sect we have to fight on mums. This can 

 easily be gotten rid of by spraying with 

 nicotine extract diluted in water. Three 

 teaspoonfuls to one gallon of water will 

 do the work without fail. For greenfly 

 use two teaspoonfuls to one gallon of 

 water, and four teaspoonfuls to one gal- 

 lon of water for red spider. 



I will say that red spider can be kept 

 down by using a good pressure from the 

 hose. Mums will bear syringing every 

 sunny day during the summer months, 

 but the man at the hose should be care- 

 ful to get as little water on the soil as. 

 possible. After October 1 syringing 

 should cease unless one has been unfor- 

 tunate enough not to be rid of red 

 spider. 



I speak of not syringing later than 

 October 1 for the reason that here is 

 where much trouble is experienced with 

 rust and blackspot. My experience 

 teaches me not to let mums stand with 

 the foliage wet at night. If we would 

 observe this point I know that we would 

 have no cause to regret it. 



We often notice mum foliage covered 

 with mildew. This not only is injurious 

 to the plants but also decreases the value 

 of the blooms and most times we are 

 compelled to carry them out to the rub- 

 bish heap. Mildew is caused from 

 draught, sudden change in the tempera- 

 ture, etc. This can be checked by mix- 

 ing sulphur and linseed oil. Make it as 

 thick as paint and apply to the steam 

 pipes. It would not be a bad plan to 

 do this the very first time you get up 



