254 



CASSELL'S POPULAR GARDENING. 



Chrysanthemum is the favourite autumn flower of 

 this country ; it is nearly as popular as the Rose, and 

 like the Rose, it can he grown and enjoyed without 

 the employment of glass structures, though these are 

 of great service in prolonging the beauty of the 

 flowers, that would otherwise he marred, if not 

 altogether spoiled, by the rains and frosts of autumn. 

 Indeed, such improvements have been made in the 

 Chrysanthemum of late, that we have now very 

 early-flowering and very late-flowering varieties, and 

 now large quantities of blooms of Chrysanthemums 

 are had under glass as late as the months of January 

 and February. 



The remarkable large-flowered varieties of the 

 Chrysanthemum at present in cultivation have been 

 obtained from C. sinense, a native of China. C. sinense 

 was introduced to the gardens of Europe about 1764, 

 and, as far as can be ascertained, the flowers of the 

 first introduction were rosy-purple in colour. It 

 has been greatly improved by the English and Con- 

 tinental florists, and at the present day there are 

 in cultivation varieties so fine that it seems difiicult 

 to imagine they can be materially improved. The 

 pretty Pompon varieties, with their small neat 

 flowers produced in such plenty, were obtained from 

 the Chusan Daisy, sent home by the late Mr. Robert 

 Fortune, from China, in 1846. The Continental 

 florists -were foremost in improving this interesting 

 little flower ; and from its being single, and like a 

 common Daisy in appearance, it has been improved 

 so successfully, that the flowers have become fully 

 double and singularly handsome. The Continental 

 florists have always enjoyed one great advantage 

 over their brethren in England — that their climate 

 is much more favourable to the production and 

 ripening of seed than is our own. The late Mr. 

 John Salter, who raised many very fine large- 

 flowering Chrysanthemums from seed, used to send 

 plants to the South of France in order to insure a 

 supply of seed. The singular and fantastic Japa- 

 nese Chrysanthemums were also obtained from plants 

 sent home from Japanese gardens by Mr, Fortune 

 some twenty years or so ago , since then the 

 varieties have increased with wonderful rapidity, 

 and of all shapes and colours. Their grotesque 

 flowers are very striking. Formerly they used to 

 flower later than the ordinary large-flowered Chry- 

 santhemums, but now many early-flowering varie- 

 ties have been introduced, and they can be had in 

 flower now for something like six months in the 

 year ; while they are largely grown for exhibition 

 purposes. 



We are now dealing with the culture of the 

 Chrysanthemum in pots, and as this system is at 

 present generally followed it may be regarded as 

 the popular mode of growing this plant. Those who 



grow Chrysanthemums for their flowers alone, aim 

 at cultivating good specimens, and it is our pur- 

 pose to set forth how this can best be done. To 

 commence, it is important that, in the choice of 

 varieties for specimens, great care should be taken 

 to select only those varieties possessing the following 

 qualities, viz., free blooming, clear and distinct 

 colours, fine foliage, and graceful habit. There are 

 now so many varieties possessing these character- 

 istics, that no difficulty need be experienced in 

 obtaining them. 



Specimen plants should be raised every year from 

 cuttings or suckers, but it is only in the case of a 

 few varieties that are shy in producing cutting- 

 wood that it is necessary to resort to suckers. And, 

 as there is nothing like a good start, cuttings should 

 be inserted in autumn or winter, as soon as they can 

 be procured. Young wood from which cuttings can 

 be obtained is thrown out from the base of the main 

 stem of the plants in autumn and spring. Suckers 

 are growths sent up through the soil from the roots. 

 If a bed of light sandy soil be made up in a cold 

 frame, cuttings will soon strike root in it ; or if put 

 into pots, singly or otherwise ; or if it be required 

 that they root quickly, in a gentle hot-bed. As soon 

 as the cuttings are rooted they should be potted i^to 

 small pots and grown into size, but taking care that 

 the plants do not become drawn, and so spindly and 

 thin, wanting in robustness. As soon as the plants' 

 are well established in three or four-inch pots, and 

 have made three or four sets of leaves, the points 

 should be pinched out ; this is what is known as 



stopping." This does not prevent the plant from 

 lengthening, and it also encourages the growth of 

 lateral shoots, five or six of these being necessary to 

 form a good specimen. These, as they increase in 

 length, should be pegged or tied down to the pots so 

 as to form a good bottom or framework, and the 

 plants need to be shifted into larger pots as re- 

 quired ; and there should be no check either for 

 want of root-room, or moisture at the roots. About 

 the last week in June the plants should be shifted 

 into their blooming-pots, and for larger specimens 

 these should be fully eleven inches in diameter. It 

 need, perhaps, scarcely be stated that robust-growing 

 Chrysanthemums require larger pots than do spare- 

 growing varieties, and as the plants increase in size 

 previous to being placed in their blooming-pots, the 

 soil should be made richer. In the earlier stages of 

 growth it is customary to use a compost made up of 

 sweet loam or rotten turf one part, leaf-mould one 

 part, and clean coarse sand one part. Later on, the 

 compost should be enriched by using rotten dung in 

 the place of leaf-mould, and it is of advantage to put 

 a pound of bone-dust to every bushel of soil. Some 

 lime rubbish — that is, old mortar from buildings, 



