CHBYSANTHEMUM 



DAISY OBDEB 



CHEySANTHEMUM 533 



forms have the florets deeply and regular! j' 

 notched or incised. 



Japanese. — Flowers large, loose, with 

 long drooping twisted or untwisted, smooth 

 or hairy, strap-shaped or threadlike florets, 

 more or less dishevelled in appearance. 



Culture. — Out of the hundreds of 

 varieties now grown comparatively few, 

 unfortunately, will be found to flower 

 satisfactorily out of doors owing to the 

 lateness at which the flowers are pro- 

 duced. The earlier flowering sorts are 

 therefore best for the outdoor garden, and 

 in favourable seasons many of the later 

 ones wiU also come to perfection especially 

 if sheltered by a wall or a screen of shrubs. 

 The plants themselves are quite hardy, 

 and many kinds come up year after year, 

 and flower profusely in cottage gardens. 



To obtain the best results, the soil for 

 Chrysanthemums cannot be too good. A 

 rich and rather heavy fibrous loam suits 

 them well. During the summer they 

 may receive frequent waterings of liquid 

 manure or a mulching of good rotted cow 

 manure. They will grow well without 

 •either, but where fine blooms are required, 

 good feeding is also necessary. 



Propagation. — Chrysanthemums are 

 readily raised from cuttings any time 

 between November and March. The 

 short stout shoots which spring from the 

 roots make the best cuttings. When 

 prepared they may have 3 or 4 joints, the 

 <3ut with a sharp knife being made straight 

 across beneath the lower one. Shoots 

 without flower-buds at the tip should be 

 selected. The cuttings should be inserted 

 «ither singly in small pots or several in 

 s, large one, or in shallow boxes in sandy 

 soil, and kept in a close frame with plenty 

 ■of light, or in a cool greenhouse. The 

 latter is better in severe winters, as cover- 

 ing up and protecting cold frames from 

 frost means a great loss of light. The 

 young plants may be potted on when well 

 rooted, and as soon as they are about 6 in. 

 high the shoots may be taken off leaving 

 8 or 4 joints, from which side branches 

 will develop, and during the season each 

 one wiU branch naturally, and show 

 flower from July and August onwards 

 according to variety. The tops taken off 

 may be struck in the same way as the 

 original cuttings. The young plants may 

 ■be put out in May about li-3 ft. apart, 

 where they are to flower. 



Suckers — that is basal shoots with 

 roots — may also be used for purposes of in- 



crease. The old ' stools ' can also be di- 

 vided about March, and thus increase the 

 stock. Where new varieties are required 

 seeds are sown in gentle heat in February 

 or March. The seedlings are pricked off 

 when large enough and grown on in a cold 

 frame as near the glass as possible to 

 make them sturdy, and afterwards receive 

 the same treatment as plants from cuttings 

 or suckers. 



The large mop-headed blooms seen 

 at exhibitions in November are produced 

 on a quite different principle. All the 

 side shoots and flowers but one are 

 sacrificed so that the vigour may be ab- 

 sorbed by the solitary bloom on the top 

 of a lanky stalk. They are aU grown in 

 pots and require a good deal of time and 

 knowledge of the individual varieties to 

 bring them to perfection. The plants are 

 highly fed with artificial manurial foods 

 (like prize pigs and poultry) and the 

 flowers are carefully twisted and curled 

 — ' dressed ' it is called — with tweezers, so 

 that the production of such flowers is a 

 somewhat expensive operation. 



Outdoor plants fortunately only require 

 to be grown as nature intended, and from 

 a floral and decorative point of view, not 

 to mention their value as cut flowers, they 

 are of far more use. Besides, they are 

 rarely attacked with fungus diseases, as 

 are their highly fed brethren, and if at 

 first they get a touch of mildew this soon 

 disappears with increased vigour ; green or 

 black fly are occasionally a trouble, but a 

 sprinkUng of fine soot or a syringing with 

 soft-soapy water wiU get rid of them very 

 soon. After a day or two the soot ot 

 course can be easily syringed off. 



Staking. — Many of the taller varieties 

 of Chrysanthemums should have a rather 

 stout stake placed to them at the time of 

 planting, as their stems are often too 

 weak to hold themselves erect without 

 support, especially when laden with blos- 

 som. If left untied to stakes the shoots 

 flop about and become very much twisted 

 and untidy, and the flower-heads are also 

 spoiled with the wet and dirt when near 

 the ground. Although a good deal of 

 time is taken up in tying the shoots and 

 keeping them properly spaced out, it is by 

 no means wasted. 



Disbudding. — Although many varie- 

 ties seem to require but httle or no thin- 

 ning out of the buds, a large number will 

 be benefited by the process. As a rule 

 several buds form at the end of each 



