

SBPTBlitBEB 5, 1907. 



The Weekly Florists' R«view. 



3 



A.'rv . , .'. 



TAKING THE BUDS. 



We are once again brought to the moat 

 important period in chrysanthemum growi 

 ing, which is that of bud selection. yb« 

 commercial grower does not figure muco 

 on buds so early, excepting on the ea.ii- 

 heat varieties, but the exhibitor, who 

 waste the very largest flowers, must, in 

 ■the majority of eases, gee the crown b^d 

 from the nxiddle of August onward. 



That the novice may understand the 

 difference between what are known as 

 crown buds and terminal buds, I wo^ld 

 say that crowns are the buds that form 

 in the earlier stages of the growth of the 

 plant, the teriniijttl bud being the termi- 

 nus, or finish of the growth. The differ- 

 ence between the buds may be known in 

 several ways, the time they are produced 

 being one way. No variety that I am ac- 

 quainted with produces terminal buds so 

 early in the year as August; consequent- 

 ly any bud produced in that month can 

 be set down as a crown. 



The crown bud always has two or more 

 growth shoots that appear around it, and 

 these shoots, if not removed, will grow 

 on, and, taking the nourishment from the 

 bud, will render the. latter useless. If 

 the date is not too early, the surrounding 

 sHoots can be rubbed off and then the 

 bud will develop properly. 



T'he terminal bud is surrounded by a 

 cluster of smaller buds, and appears in 

 September or later, according to the time 

 the plants are set out. The flower pro- 

 duced from a terminal bud is nevef so 

 large as from crown buds. In some (;a8es 

 it is more highly colored, some of the 

 pink varieties showing this condition, but 

 very few prizes are won by terminal bud 

 flowers. 



How early can I take a crOwn bud 

 with safety, is often asked. This will 

 vary with varieties and localities. Here 

 in New Jersey we are safe after August 

 20 in taking buds of any varieties except 

 a few late kinds that I will enumerate 

 shortly. This date is for the great bulk 

 of the varieties. Some jof the earlier 

 kinds, like Monrovia, are taken as early 

 as August 1. It is impossible to get the 

 plants all showing bud just the day you 

 want them, but if a hud is showing Au- 

 gust 12 to 15 it can be easily held for a 

 week on the plant in a semi-dormant 

 condition by permitting the side shoots 

 to grow avd pinching them at the first 

 joint, gradually removing them alto- 

 gether, in ten days to two weeks. It is 

 not wife to remove all the shoots at once 

 from around the bud, even if the date 

 is Dot too early. By holding one shoot 

 for a few days the sap is diverted from 

 the tiny bud, until it begins to swell. 

 Some exhibition growers take chances on 

 buds as early as August 6 to 10 and 

 come out all right, but they are at a 

 much higher altitude than we are, and 

 the average temperature is consequently 

 much lower than on the plains. On the 

 other hand, some growers in the middle 

 west claim that they can do little TVith 

 crown buds taken in August, as the air 

 is -fraeh dryer and the buds shrivel in- 

 stead of swelling. Personally, I think 

 much of this could be overcome by co- 



pious spraying, making one 's town atmos- 

 phere, as it were, but as I have no actual 

 experience of the climate I merely sug- 

 gest such a possibility. 



I mentioned that there were some va- 

 rieties that should not be taken on 

 August crowns. A list of these is as fol- 

 lows: Col. Appleton, Mrs. Swinburne, 

 Mrs. Geo. Beech, W. H. Chadwick, Yel- 

 low Chadwick, Jeanne Nonin, and the 

 old Mand Dean. It is entirely possible 

 that there are others. 



From the second week in September 

 onward these kinds may be taken with 

 safety for the best results. Many of tnem 

 come all right on August buus, but the 

 petals are shorter and the flower not 

 nearly so graceful. This is particularly 

 true in the case of Appleton, which from 

 an early bud produces a heavy flower, 

 but it is short petaled, coarse and lumpy. 



It is a good way, particularly where 

 one is trying new kinds, to tie a label 

 on certain plants, giving the time of tak- 

 ing the bud. This gives a certain rec- 

 ord when the plant flowers as to which 

 buds produced best results and is valua- 

 ble as a guide for future years. It is 

 impossible to carry such data in one's 



should not have good success with Itoi 

 d'ltalie. C. H. T. 



FEEDING THE PLANTS. 



Mukh. 



The chrysanthemum is a gross feeder 

 when well established, and from now on 

 food may be applied in greater or less 

 quantity, as the plants may need it. 



A light mulch of rotted cow manure 

 is very good, and a dusting of very flne 

 bone applied to the beds before the 

 manure is put on is even better. I say. 

 fine bone, because the time is too short 

 for the plants to get very much benefit 

 out of it if coarse bone is used. So get 

 the bone flour, if you can. This mulch 

 helps to keep the beds from drying out 

 so rapidly and furnishes food, as it is 

 gradually washed down into the soil. The 

 best principle to follow in feeding is to 

 give a little at a time, but give it often. 

 A heavy dose of anything kills the feed- 

 ing roots and does more harm than good. 

 Plants in benches will run from eight to 

 ten weeks after planting before any 

 feeding will be necessary. By that time 

 the beds should be full of roots and in 

 a condition to stand fertilizers. 



Chemical F«rtilizcrk. 



Chemical fertilizers, carefully used, are 

 of great value in finishing the crop and 

 much of the success of the best culti- 

 vators is due to their judicious use. I 

 prefer nitrate of potash and sulphate of 

 ammonia, these having given me the best 



The ''Maditon Bunch** in Charge of the Sergeant-at-arou at the Convention. 



head from year to year and a notebook 

 is something almost every successful mum 

 grower carries. Charles H. Totty. 



ROI D'lTALIE. 



Kindly let me know how to treat Roi 



d'ltalie mum. What bud should be 



taken and when should I take it? This 



is my first experience with this variety. 



A. W. 



The culture of Boi. d'ltalie presents 

 no diflSculties other than the ordinary 

 ones of handling any variety. So far as 

 the bud is concerned, take the first one 

 you can now. It is perfectly safe and 

 you cannot go wrong on it. Feed and 

 water it as you do the rest of your 

 plants and I see no reason why you 



results if used in alternate dosed and in 

 combination with liquid from natural 

 manures. The proportion of chemical 

 that I use is one pound in a fifty-gallon 

 barrel of water. This proportion will 

 harm nothing, but don't think that if 

 one pound is good two pounds would be 

 better and increase the amount. It is 

 safe to say that more plants are spoiled 

 by mistaken kindness than in any other 

 way. Chemicals are odorless and taste- 

 less when dissolved in water, and as they 

 look BO innocent, one is tempted to nse 

 more than he would otherwise. 



A Variety of Foods. 



I like to change from one thing to 

 another, so that -the plants have a change 

 of diet constantly. I hold that the feeci- 



