Fall Care of Chrysanthemums 



CHEYSANTHEMUMS which have 

 been growing in the garden during 

 summer should be potted before the 

 middle of the present month. Get ready 

 for this by providing fresh ^oil, clean pots, 

 drainage material, and stakes to which the 

 plants should be tied as soon as placed in 

 pots, in order to make sure against injury 

 by breaking in moving them. Being very 

 brittle, a plant with a large head is often 

 snapped off in handling. Therefore be 



sure to furnish support at the time of 

 potting them. ■ ■ 



I tind it a good plan to cut about my 

 Chrysanthemums with a thin, sharp- 

 bladed spade about a week before I am 

 ready to lift them. This severs all roots 

 that would interfere with putting them 

 in pots, and it encourages the development 

 of new feeding roots inside the ball of 

 earth. These roots greatly assist the plant 

 in its efforts to withstand the ordeal of 

 transplanting. Of course it will be under- 

 stood that the amount of soil cut about is 

 proportioned to the size of the pot to be 

 used. It should be just about large enough 

 to fill the pot. If larger it will oblige a 



second cutting to reduce the soil to the 

 space afforded by the pot, and this will 

 neutralize the benefit supposed to be 

 gained by the use of the spade. 



If the ground is dry, water your plants 

 well before lifting them. We must aim to 

 disturb their roots as little as possible, and 

 a dry soil is sure to crumble away from 

 and expose them. 



Choose a cloudy day in which to do your 

 potting, if possible. 



If your pots are new ones, be sure to soak 

 them well before putting any plants into 

 them. If you do not do this the porous 

 material of the pot will extract the mois- 

 ture from the soil precisely as a sponge 

 does, and before you know it the "roots will 

 be dried out, and the plants severely in- 

 jured, if not spoiled. 



When ready for potting, insert the 

 spade to its full depth at one side of the 

 plant, and then bear down on its handle. 

 This will cause the ball of earth containing 

 the roots of the plant to rise to the level 

 of the earth about, and by putting your 

 knee on the spade handle you can hold 

 the spade and its burden in a position for 

 the latter to be convenient for manipula- 

 tion by the hands. Place the pot beside 

 the spade, and make sure that the ball of 

 earth is small enough to slip into it easily. 

 If it is not, crumble away enough of the 

 soil about the outside of it to reduce it to 

 the necessary limits. Then lift it from 

 the spade and drop it into its pot. Crowd 

 it down well. If there are any openings 

 between the soil and the pot fill them with 

 the soil prepared in advance for such a 

 purpose as this. Then water well, after 

 which set the plant away in a shad}^, but 

 airy place. Leave it there for at least a 

 week, showering it daily, and watering 

 whenever the surface of the soil shows a 

 hint of dryness. When you stake it tie 

 the branches securely in several places. 

 Strips of cloth will be found preferable 

 to string, as they will not cut into the 

 stalks. Some of the old leaves will turn 



