March 11, 1909. 



The Weekly Florists' Review* 



EARLY MUMS. 



Is it better to plant early mums on 

 raised wooden benches with a couple of 

 hot water pipes under them and with 

 three to five feet head room, or would 

 you advise removing the benches and 

 making a solid bed on the ground? If so, 

 how deep should the soil be? This way 

 the plants would have from five to eight 

 feet of head room. After the mums are 

 out I intend to plant the bed with callas 

 started in pots. E. A. M. 



I would recommend planting the 

 mums on the raised bench, and it would 

 also be better for the winter crop of 

 callas. Three to five feet of head room 

 is ample for Polly Rose, Pacific, Monro- 

 via, Golden Glow, Comoleta and Bea- 

 trice May. October Frost and Crocus 

 will get up taller, but they could be 

 planted on the side where they would get 

 the five feet of head room. 



A depth of five inches of soil is ample 

 to grow the mum crop, and as good a 

 crop of callas as I ever saw had no more 

 to grow in. Mums planted in solid beds 

 can not be controlled as they can on 

 benches and, while I am aware that many 

 are grown that way, I would prefer the 

 benches, particularly when, as in this 

 case, the bench is already erected. Plants 

 propagated this month will be ready for 

 planting at the end of May and I would 

 recommend that they be planted at that 

 time if E. A. M. wants to eret really 

 good flowers. C. H. T. 



TIME TO PROPAGATE. 



When should I start my cuttings of the 

 chrysanthemum so I can have them by 

 Thanksgiving? C. M. H. 



Chrysanthemum cuttings for Thanks- 

 giving blooms can be put in any time 

 from now until the end of June. As a 

 rule, "commercial growers propagate 

 mostly in May. For Thanksgiving trade 

 you must grow late varieties, such as 

 Jeanne Nonin, Chadwick, Bonnaffon, 

 Eaton, Yellow Jerome Jones and others. 



C. W. 



EARLY FLOWERING POT PLANTS 



Good Commercial Stock. 



From the third week in September 

 until the middle of October is a period 

 when cut flowers are not too abundant, 

 particularly in the case of chrysanthe- 

 mums grown under glass. Early frosts 

 frequently cut off asters, dahlias and 

 other outdoor subjects, while roses and 

 carnations are still short-stemmed and 

 poor in quality. There is a sigh of re- 

 lief when the early single stems, such as 

 Pacific, Polly Rose and the newer Golden 

 Glow and Pacific Supreme make their 

 initial bow. It is somewhat surprising 

 that more attention has not hitherto been 

 paid to the English early-blooming varie- 



ties of chrysanthemums, as when pot 

 grown they are at their best from the 

 middle of September to the middle of 

 October. 



Simple Culture. 



There would seam to be an impression 

 that these varieties are not adapted to 

 our American climate and will not do 

 here. What they wiU do planted in the 

 border I do not know, but I have an 

 idea that some of them may prove use- 



ital bush plants in 7-inch or 8-inch pots. 

 From the end of May until the buds be- 

 come prominent, they are better kept 

 outdoors, when they can be removed to a 

 light, airy house to open. Successive 

 shifts from 3-inch to 5-inch and lastly 

 to 7-inch pots will keep the plants mov- 

 ing nicely. 



For cutting, bench or box culture is to 

 be preferred. If planted in June, they 

 will make strong shoots, which are better 

 not disbudded, the sprays of flowers. 



Chrysanthemum Mme. Marie Masse. 



ful, but as pot plants they are a de- 

 cided success and fill in a gap which to 

 both florists and private gardeners is 

 much in evidence each year. They make 

 bushy plants if kept pinched until the 

 middle of July and anyone trying them 

 once will want more of them. 



Cuttings rooted from March 1 to as 

 late as the middle of April will make cap- 



being decidedly preferable to single flow- 

 ers for floral work. 



At present no commercial grower in. 

 America, so far as I am aware, lists 

 these early mums. Mr. Totty seemed to 

 be impressed by the masses of them 

 seen while at Merstham, England, last 

 year, where the veteran, W. Wells, grows- 

 over 40,000 of them outdoors, ^n Eng- 



