166 
-flowar iBrowar 
October, 1920 
Chrysanthemums. 
Cultural Hints and Reminders Including the Dates for Taking 
the Buds of the Different Varieties. 
BY W. H. TAPLIN (in Florists’ Exchange.) 
A RESUME of Chrysanthemum culture 
in one article must necessarily be rather 
brief in its remarks, and it will be 
understood that the present article is not in- 
tended as a complete treatise, but rather as 
a reminder of some of those little details 
that count for much toward success. Even 
those of us who have been in the game for 
many years mav sometimes overlook details, 
the neglect of which may prove costly. 
In the first place in order to grow Chrys- 
anthemums successfully one must begin with 
healthy stock plants, and at the present day 
this means that the grower must especially 
watch out for that pestiferous insect known 
as the Chrysanthemum midge or gall fly, for 
the insect in question has become very wide- 
spread in the past season or two, and if the 
stock plants are infested with the midge it is 
useless to look for results from the young 
plants. 
Specimens of this troublesome pest were 
found in many and widely separated por- 
tions of the country last year and any grower 
of experience knows that it is not an easy 
pest to eradicate. The characteristic galls 
formed by this insect are found on both 
leaves and stems of the affected plants, and 
where such galls are found it is a safe pre- 
caution to destroy the plants and secure 
some clean stock elsewhere. 
Some growers box up the stock plants in 
deep trays and store them in a cool house 
for the winter, maintaining a night temper- 
ature of 45 deg., and giving ventilation when- 
ever the weather permits. During this 
period, and for that matter, through the 
whole propagating period, it is good practice 
to give the plants frequent dustings with 
tobacco dust, or else to spray frequently 
with nicotine solution, thus disposing of the 
aphis as they appear. 
Cuttings are taken as fast as they are 
ready after Feb. 1, and planted in clean sand 
in the propagating house, the most satisfac- 
tory method being to use three inches of 
sand in the bed pressed down firmly, and 
to water the cuttings thoroughly as they 
are planted. A temperature of 50° in the 
propagating house with the sand bed 8° to 
10° higher is the proper measure of heat for 
the cuttings, and they should be sprayed 
over each bright day or frequently enough 
to prevent wilting. Under these conditions 
the majority of varieties will form roots in 
ten days to two weeks, there being an occa- 
sional variety that requires a longer time in 
the propagating house. 
As soon as rooted the cuttings should be 
potted off into 2\ in. pots, shaded from the 
full sunshine for a day or two until the roots 
take hold of the soil, and then be given full 
light and plenty of ventilation. The young 
plants should be topped before they get too 
tall, thus getting additional cuttings and at 
the same time making the plants more 
sturdy. When this operation is performed 
it is best to keep the topped plants rather 
dry until they start to grow again, this con- 
dition encouraging a stronger break of the 
young shoots. 
It is also well to remember that there are 
a few short-jointed varieties that do not take 
kindly to topping, examples of which are 
found in the old Polly Rose, Pacific and 
Prest. Roosevelt. In the case of very early 
cuttings it will sometimes pay to shift on the 
young plants into 3 in. pots rather than to 
permit them to get very much root-bound, 
but the later crops of cuttings will not re- 
quire this and may be planted out from 2$ in. 
pots. As a general rule it may be said that 
early planting is most likely to produce early 
flowers, but much depends on the treatment 
and on the weather conditions, the latter 
having much influence on the growth of 
flower buds. Very hot weather seems to re- 
tard the flowers to some extent, while cool 
nights in August will do much to encourage 
the crop. 
The question of solid beds or raised benches 
is one that often comes up in the mind of 
the inexperienced grower, and in regard to 
this it may be said that while good flowers 
are produced by either method, yet it is un- 
doubtedly true that the raised bench is more 
under control in the matter of watering, and 
also gives the grower a better opportunity to 
get at the under side of the foliage when 
syringing. Four to five inches of soil gives 
depth enough for the roots, and the spacing 
of the plants in the beds depends on the 
grade of flowers desired. 
Those who desire large flowers such as 
may be sold by the high class retailer in a 
large city, frequently plant 8 in. by 8 in. on 
the benches and some times even 8 in. by 
10 in. and then grow only one flower to the 
plant, while others who grow for a less criti- 
cal trade are satisfied to plant 6 in. by 8 in. 
and grow two flowers to each plant, the 
flowers being correspondingly smaller. 
But the question of space being decided 
upon, it is necessary to run longitudinal wires 
over the bench and overhead to provide sup- 
port for the twine that takes the place of a 
stake in holding up the plants, and this being 
done, the young plants are set out usually 
between May 15 and June 1. 
Some care in watering is required now to 
avoid getting the soil over-wet, but vigorous 
syringing is needed to discourage red spider 
and thrips, both of which are partial to the 
tender and succulent foliage of the young 
plants. Before the plants have a chance to 
fall over or get broken with the hose they 
should be supported and this may be neatly 
done by stretching a piece of twine from 
wire to wire at each plant and by usjng 
either strong cotton twine or light jute. The 
plant may be twisted around the cord, as the 
growth progresses, thus avoiding any further 
tying. 
Spraying once a week with nicotine solu- 
tion is a safe method to keep down the in- 
sects, but if there is any doubt about the 
clean condition of the plants it is best to add 
several fumigations with nicotine before the 
flower buds show color for after that time 
the syringing has to be less thorough in 
order to avoid wetting the opening flowers. 
In the course of three or four weeks after 
planting and the weeds having been kept 
down, it is well to mulch the benches with 
old manure, a depth of about one to one and 
a half inches of manure being sufficient to 
protect the roots and provide some extra 
nourishment, and in case this top dressing 
gets washed off it may be repeated a month 
or six weeks later. 
Some of the early varieties will show a 
bud in July, but unless extremely early 
flowers are desired, such, for example, as 
Golden Glow and Smith’s Advance, it is not 
yet safe to take a bud. Briefly stated, the 
buds of early varieties may be taken Aug. 10 
to Aug. 25, those of midseason varieties Aug. 
25 to Sept. 10, and the late sorts from Sept. 
15 to Oct. 10, according to the condition of 
the plants. Varieties differ in the time they 
may be taken, and it is a matter of experi- 
ence to select a bud just right, those taken 
t®» ®arly lsaing liabl* t* be too deuble to 
open well, while those taken too late have 
too few petals to make a good flower. 
The “climbing cutworm” is one of the 
worst pests to be overcome after the buds 
have been selected on the plants, for the 
chief object in life of this worm is to climb 
to the top of a ’Mum at night and to de- 
vour the flower bud, and as the worm hides 
in the mulch during the day it is not easy to 
find. 
Some additional fertilizing material is usu- 
ally given when the buds show color, some 
growers using liquid cow manure, and others 
various chemical fertilizers, but in the latter 
case it is safer to err on the side of weak- 
ness from the fact that most of the chemical 
fertilizers depend on nitrate of soda or sul- 
phate of ammonia for their feeding powers, 
and too much of these sources of nitrogen 
will result in burning the flowers. 
For the benefit of beginners it may be said 
that a Chrysanthemum flower must be de- 
veloped on the plant, as it cannot be cut 
when half open and then developed in wa- 
ter, and after cutting the flowers should al- 
ways be stood in deep vases in order to get 
as much of the stem in water as possible, 
and also kept in the water for several hours 
before shipping. 
For general commercial use the incurved 
varieties are the most satisfactory from the 
fact that they will pack better and also stand 
more handling without serious injury. 
In the matter of colors, white and yellow 
take first place, and varieties of these colors 
are always in demand, while pink comes 
next, possibly owing to the fact that real 
pinks are few, those known as pink usually 
containing more or less purple in their make 
up. Bronze varieties are used to some ex- 
tent, though not in very large quantities, 
and reds still less, a Harvard reunion being 
quite an event in the market for red ’Mums. 
Varieties multiply from year to year and all 
are not equally good, but keeping in mind 
the suggestions as to colors just noted it 
would be safe to select a succession of varie- 
ties from the lists of specialists like Elmer 
Smith and C. H. Totty, men who have done 
great things to improve and popularize the 
Chrysanthemum in America. 
But for the convenience of those who are 
somewhat inexperienced in the selection of 
varieties of Chrysanthemums for commercial 
use, the following brief list of standard va- 
rieties is suggested : 
For early flowering, which means varieties 
which follow such abnormal sorts as Golden 
Glow and Smith’s Advance, we suggest 
Chrysolora, Unaka and Early Frost, for yel- 
low, pink and white respectively : 
Midseason varieties in the same range of 
colors are Col. Appleton, Chieftain and 
October Queen. 
Late flowering sorts could include such 
fine varieties as December Queen and Major 
Bonnaffon for yellows, Dr. Enguehard and 
Maud Dean for pinks, and Jeanne Nonin and 
White Bonnaffon to complete the whites. The 
bronze tinted may be well represented by 
Mrs. O. H. Kahn, Tints of Gold and Tekonsha. 
These are all varieties that have been grown 
for some years and have stood the test of 
time, but for the benefit of anyone who 
wishes to test some newer sorts, the follow- 
ing list of varieties of recent introduction 
has been prepared by Elmer D. Smith, whose 
knowledge and judgment in the matter of 
’Mums are well known and appreciated 
throughout the country : 
Yellow — Sun Glow, Golden Queen, Mid- 
night Sun, Tiger, Loyalty. 
White— Liberty Bond, Betsy Ross, Smith’s 
Imperial and Victory. 
Pink —Helen Lee. 
This issue is especially rich in Chrys- 
anthemum lore. The articles on this 
subject should prove very valuable to 
lovers of Mums. 
