Depeiad ben MoU MS. © OR 
to compete with the highly fee. 
equipped specialist. Ifthe manage- 
ment of propagating can be the ex- 
clusive responsibility of a good 
man and the work is done on a 
fairly large scale, it should be clear 
that it can be carried out to better 
advantage than by a grower who 
needs but a few thousand cuttings. 
On the other hand, there is a sound 
reason for the fact that we are re- 
ceiving an increasing number of 
50-100,000 orders from large 
growers. 
WHEN TO PLANT. When 
grown outdoors or in cloth houses, 
or in the greenhouse for black 
cloth shading to flower early, the 
planting must be done earlier than 
when grown normally. The reason 
for this is that shading must start 
in July or approximately 60 days 
before they are wanted in flower, 
and the growth of pompons should 
be up at least 14-18 in., for after 
buds are set, stem lengthening is 
limited. If much shorter than we 
suggest they will not be long 
stemmed enuf for top prices. Nat- 
urally the big standards should be 
somewhat taller when — shading 
starts. When used for shading we 
try to get our planting finished be- 
tween May 15 and June 1. How- 
ever, if good cuttings are planted 
as late as June 10 and they dig 
right in and grow without a check, we find they 
will usually get tail enuf for shading by late July. 
But when early started or pot hardened stock 
is used, it sometimes fails to make that free, 
vigorous getaway that is necessary for lengthen- 
ing stems. 
When grown normally, planting should be 
done in June. When delayed until July as it 
necessarily is sometimes, the result cannot be 
so favorable. In fact we do not believe the 
average net result of such a late planting is 
profitable, for the margin in Mums at best is 
fairly close when they must be sold in an open 
market. The margin can easily disappear en- 
tirely if they are second grade. Rather than 
plant late it might be more profitable to get 
the beds well prepared for a timely started 
winter crop, of something else. The beds might 
even be benefited by a rest of a. month or two. 
It makes little sense to overwork ourselves 
today on a crop the net result of which is ques- 
tionable. Where planting cannot be done until 
July or- perhaps early August the young stock 
is sometimes planted outdoors until the beds 
are available. This usually works out fairly 
well with early or mid season pompons grown 
naturally, but among the later varieties some 
incline to make blind growth with few flowers 
when handled this way. If planted out early 
as it can safely be done, and left out until not 
later than early July, this plan will work out, 
1944 FROM — Sh 
pag 

Mum Pot Plant Anemone ‘‘Gypsy.’’ 
but there is considerable added labor involved 
in planting out, and later in. On the whole we 
don’t believe it pays. 
SPACING. We like to space pompon cut- 
tings 6x6 in., top them once at a_ height ~of 
8-10 in. and remove the breaks to the three 
strongest or, perhaps 2 on a few weak plants, 
and 4 on a few of the strongest. A few further 
breaks may show up later from about the base 
and should be removed. With all the plant’s 
energy concentrated in this limited growth it in- 
sures stem length and that adds considerable 
value to bunched stock. As ordinarily grown 
spaced 7x8, topped several times and no weak 
growths removed, there is a considerable waste 
of growth that is blind or partially so, and this 
frequently results in stems that are not long 
enough for top grade stock. The new plan is 
generally used with disbuds and anemones, with 
perhaps some modification for habit variation 
in varieties. In producing big Mums there is 
considerable variation in spacing from around 
10x10 in. for exhibition flowers to allowing a 
half dozen or more flowers to a plant spaced 
8x8. To the cost of space occupied by the Ex- 
hibition or single stem plants should be added 
the fact that a varying percentage are damaged 
in some stage of their development. When 
spaced 7x8 in. and two. flowers grown to a 
plant this danger of loss is reduced somewhat 
and this is a popular procedure with commer- 
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