Big Chrysanthemums 
in Gard ens 
and Little as The}) 
East and West 
Grow 
I. LARGE-FLOWERED CHRYSANTHEMUMS ON A CITY LOT 
HENRY WENZEL, New York City 
An Amateur’s Success With “Exhibition” and “Commercial” Blooms in a Fenced Around 
16x40 Ft. Yard—Flowers till Mid-November Without Accessory Heat of any Kind 
Editors’ Note: So much interest has been evidenced by readers in the brief accounts of Mr. William Currie and Mr. Wenzel-on growing Exhibition Chrysan¬ 
themums under ordinary garden conditions (The Open Column for March and April, 1922) that it seems pertinent to present the story more fully, and so Mr. Wenzel 
supplements his original paragraphs (page 129, April, 1922) with these details of his procedure and success. T he gardener who is stimulated to the point of wanting 
to win some successes for himself with the large-flowered varieties would do well to first glean all the essentials by turning back to the previously published suggestions 
Y FIRST success with the ordinary garden Hardy Chry- 
||tp|| santhemums led, some sixteen years ago, to experiments 
in growing those of the “Exhibition” type out-of-doors. 
mBk Notwithstanding the fact that blooms came late, my 
good fortune with these was such as to spur me to try out the 
“Commercial” type in the hope of securing earlier blooms. 
This proved to be the case, although the flowerswere not so large. 
This past season’s record is so encouraging that gardeners who 
have not yet tried these large and beautiful blooms outdoors 
may be stimulated to do so. 
My handicaps are these: first, lack of air, as might be ex¬ 
pected in a city back yard, sixteen feet wide by forty long, with 
solid fences at the sides to a height of five feet, topped by 
pickets to a total height of six and one-half feet. At the back 
is a double fence, the higher of the two rising solid to the top 
of my pickets, and soaring upward, including pickets, to a 
height of nine feet above my garden level. Another handicap 
is lack of space; eighty Chrysanthemum plants, of over forty 
varieties, were grown in a space that should have accommodated 
but half that number. My greatest handicap, however, is 
lack of sufficient sunlight. Throughout the season, neighboring 
gardens are bathed in sunlight hours before mine. On October 
29th, when my early varieties were in fullest bloom, 1 noted 
the sunshine covering a neighbor’s Chrysanthemum beds at 
ten a. m., while mine were in shade until one p. m., and were 
again shaded shortly after three p. m.—and all my Exhibition 
varieties yet to bloom! 
On the other hand, after my last large flower-cutting on 
November 25th, 1 realized for the first time that, in summariz¬ 
ing my conditions, 1 should set down as a great asset the fact 
that frost does no appreciable damage in my little city yard un¬ 
til well after mid-November. In 1922, freezing temperature 
was first recorded in my garden on November 22nd, a full 
inonth after frosts were reported in the suburbs. 
Suburban gardeners may, however, also have November 
blooms if, on the approach of mid-October frosts, their plants 
are protected with a top covering of muslin on frosty days and 
nights. As the advantages they enjoy of better soil, more sun¬ 
shine and easier access to stable manure for fertilizing and 
mulching, forwards their blooming period considerably (two 
weeks and more) in comparison with mine, it may well be that 
every variety maturing for me will mature for them also and 
(as my plants are not protected) sometimes earlier, oftentimes 
better. 
Hitherto one has been obliged to learn from experience, due, 
in large measure, to the fact that dates of “taking the bud" 
and of bloom in growers’ catalogues refer to culture under 
glass and are, therefore, misleading. The remedy lies in the 
growers devoting a section of their catalogues exclusively to 
amateurs, listing early large blooming varieties for outdoor 
culture and giving simple cultural directions for their care. 
Chrysanthemums of the recommended types may be ordered 
by mail from almost any florist or seedsman, but all of the va¬ 
rieties may not be catalogued except by specialists. When 
ordering, specify May delivery—any time from April 25 to mid- 
June will do—and set plants twelve to eighteen inches apart 
each way, the “Exhibitions” receiving the greater space. 
Setting out, Staking, and Feeding the Plants 
A SSUMING that it is generally known that Chrysanthe- 
„ mums need food, water, and sunlight in abundance and 
benefit much by constant cultivation of the soil and mulching 
with old stable manure, or other litter, during hot weather, let 
us proceed to details of culture. 
As soon as convenient after setting out, plants are staked. 
Five-foot stakes are used for the “Commercials,” six-foot for the 
“ Exhibitions,” all three quarters of an inch in diameter and set 
firmly in the soil. The plants are tied to these at each foot of 
growth, firmly but loosely, around the plant, the top tie looser 
than the others to permit blooms sufficient space for develop¬ 
ment without interfering with each other or chafing against 
the stakes. To obviate a forest of stakes, light posts may be 
set out at each end of a row and single wires, or chicken wire, 
stretched between them and plants tied to these as they grow. 
If one starts off with ground spaded up and manured the pre¬ 
vious fall, he starts well. 1 did the next best thing by removing 
old plants from my beds early in the spring, turning over the 
ground, raking in sheep manure and planning the lay-out of the 
different varieties as far as possible in advance of their receipt. 
A month after plants were set out, fertilizing began. Dried 
sheep manure being readily obtainable in cities (and having 
city folk in mind, when I set out to do what the merest tyro 
could follow me in doing), I relied solely on this fertilizer, dig- 
