Growing Bush Plants of Chrysanthemums 
By Wm. J. Sealey, New York'-= 
T(_) produce first class specimen ISush plants of chry- 
santhemums the grower must use all availalile 
means at his command in order to obtain such 
specimens as are seen at our exhibitions today. 
To get large plants, cuttings should he propagated be- 
fore January first, but good sized jjlants may be grown 
from cuttings rooted even as late as February fifteenth. 
Cuttings should be taken preferably from stock which 
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^4 Half Glibi' Siia/^cd Chryscvitliciinini Plant. 
was planted in the open ground the season iiieviotis. 
These stock plants may be lifted before the weather gets 
too cold and placed in a cool house. Another method as 
practiced by a number of growers is to cut out three or 
four suckers from an old stock plant and place into 3 or 
4 inch pots in a light soil and when the ball becomes filled 
with roots treat the same as those grown from cuttings. 
In selecting varieties choose those having a vigorous 
but rather dwarf habit of growth, heavy foliage, and 
good color. There are very few of the many varieties of 
chrysanthemums that make good bush plants. 
When the cuttings have made roots about one-half 
inch long they should be potted into 2 inch pots using 
loam, a little leaf mold and enough sand to make the soil 
iwrous. The plants will make roots rapidlv and should 
be repotted as soon as the ball of earth has become fairly 
well filled with them until they are into 8 or 10-inch pots, 
when they may be shifted into the pot into which they are 
to flower. Each time the plants are potted they should 
receive a stronger soil, but for the final shift a good com- 
posit of fibrous loam, well decayed manure and a little 
ground bone will carry the plants well along into the sea- 
son. When the plants are about 4 inclies high the center 
should lie stopped in order to have the plant send out 
branches from below. 
After these branches have made from ,S to 5 leaves 
they must also be stopped. At this stage training to se- 
cure the form of the future plant should begin. There is 
a great variety of shapes to which the v/lants mav readily 
be trained, but the form mostly used ap])roaches very 
nearlv a half globe. As the ])lants make growths from 5 
to 7 leaves they are again stopped and this continued until 
about early in August. Then no more stopping or pinch- 
ing should be done. 
*Paper read before tlie Westchester & Fairfield Horticulture Society. 
Keep the plants growing all the time, giving them ample 
room and all the air possible during the hot summer 
months. When the pot or tub into which the plant is to 
Hower becomes fairly well filled with roots they should 
receive a stimulant of some kind. Begin by using in weak 
hquid form cow or sheep manure, occasionally using soot, 
Clay's blood and bone or any good standard fertilizer. 
The grower must use his own judgment in feeding as 
to what he thinks the plant requires. Some varieties will 
not stand strong feeding, while others can scarcely be 
o\erfed. A light dose of nitrate of soda will often help 
a plant that has been checked or that lacks color if used 
at the rate of IS ounces to 50 gallons of water. Great 
care must be exercised when the plants are making rapid 
growth, as the branches are very easily broken and the 
loss of a branch will often times ruin a plant for exhibi- 
tion. About Sejjtember first the buds will form, gener- 
ally 2 or 3 at the end of each shoot To obtain good 
results all of these except the one at the extreme end of 
each shoot should be removed. When the buds begin to 
show color, preparations should be made for getting the 
blooms tied in the positions they must occupy in order to 
make a symmetrical plant. There are two methods of doing 
this and both are excellent if well done. For small plants 
use galvanized stakes, using one stake to each flowering 
shoot, which will hold the flower in the desired position. 
For larger plants, and one that is more used at the 
present time, make a wire form about the plant, tying 
the blooms to it. When tying the plant begin at the center 
and place the flowers so that they w\\\ be evenlv distri- 
buted over the frame. 
The varieties that seem best adopted for bush plants 
to-day are Lady Lydia, Telton, Wells Late Pink, Pearson, 
Annie Laurie and Garza. The treatment for standards 
are exactly the same as for bush plants, except that in- 
stead of stopping the plant when 4 inches high the stem is 
allowed to grow to whatever height the grower desires. 
A Fan-Shaftrd Cltrysanthcmtim Plant 
The center is then stopj^ed and the head is formed by 
stopping and tying the same as for a bush plant. 
In order to grow good bush plants or standards it is 
not necessary to have a large green house especially for 
them. With some cold frame sash a portable house can 
be erected and with the use of an oil stove on cold nights 
excellent results can be obtained, especially if the grower 
will choose varieties that flower by November first. 
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