322 FRITZ BAHR'S COMMERCIAL FLORICULTURE 



Some sorts will produce better flowers from crown, others from 

 terminal buds. If you purchase new sorts from a specialist he will 

 tell you which to select. Climatic conditions also make a great 

 difference. Although when growing single flowers on a small scale 

 you may not be much out of the way whichever one you select, 

 experience wiU soon show the best method to apply with each of 

 the sorts you handle. 



Feeding 



There is far more harm done by overfeeding than by starving 

 the plants. To the beginner, I would say, if you have a good soil 

 to start out with and if the plants are doing nicely, let them alone 

 until the buds are well formed. Usually by that time a mulch con- 

 sisting of two parts weU-decomposed cow manure and two parts 

 good soil spread over the surface of the benches 1 or 2 in. in thick- 

 iiess will be helpful; or this can be applied later — say, the latter 

 jpait of July. By early September give hght doses of Uquid cow 

 manure every two weeks. Never use chemicals unless you obtain 

 them from rehable sources and then use them carefuUy according 

 to directions. 



Insect Pests and Diseases 



There are about tWenty difl'erent insects and diseases ready 

 to ruin your plants, IJPt "whether the pest is midge, aphis or thrips 

 (which are among the most troublesome) nicotine in one form or 

 another wiU control it best. But you must keep at it, and examine 

 the plants dafly in order to keep them clean. Never propagate 

 from diseased stock. 



Bench, Solid Bed, or Pot Culture 



For single-stem flowers I prefer raised benches with about 5 in. 

 of soil in which you can control things better. For Pompons either 

 benches or solid beds wiU do. Frequently growers have houses 

 which are closed during the Winter months; these can be used for 

 bedding stock during Spring, and then for Pompons up to the end 

 of November, thus requiring but little heat and yet paying weU. 



Almost any sort of Chrysanthemum is adapted for pot cul- 

 ture, but there are some, of a dwarf habit, such as the Gap family, 

 which for commercial purposes are better. For the busy man and 

 the one who only wants 5-, 6- and 7-in. pot plants, a good way is 

 to start out with 2- to 23/^-in. stock during May or June and keep 

 the plants pinched and shifted during the Summer months. Plung- 

 ing the pots up to their rims in a frame outdoors and aUowing plenty 

 of space between them saves work. Another way is to plant them 



