




House of Silver Sheen. Benched first week in May. Shaded beginning July 15th. 
This photo taken about Sept. 10th. 
of a form of rot that blackens and destroys the foliage, 
especially about the base of the plants. Should this set 
in, better remove the side cloth at least every evening after 
dark to promote air circulation, but it must be replaced be- 
fore daylight the next morning. 
NEW INSECTICIDES 
Several materials that have come on the market during 
and since the war which we find very effective: 
Sodium Selenate, primarily for control of Mum midge. 
Also very effective against spider, leaf nematode, aphis, and 
some control of thrip. It is applied to soil like fertilizer 
and taken up by plants. Insects are killed by the Selenate 
when they feed on tissue of treated plants. Best form to 
use: ““P-40”, a powder applied to soil 3 Ibs. per 100 sq. ft. 
Treat stock plants soon as established. Treat plants again 
3 weeks after benching; same rate. (P-40 available from 
Plant Products Corp., Blue Point, L. I., N. Y.) 
DDT—Very effective against thrip, also good for leaf 
roller and various other chewing insects. Kills tarnished 
plant bug. Kills Mum midge—as they emerge only, of 
course. There are a very few reports of injury to Mums 
from DDT, but generally OK. Try it out on a small lot 
first. Use Detex at strength recommended on can. (Avail- 
able from Geo. J. Ball, Inc.) 
Aerosol Bombs—The DDT is furnished in a metal 
“bomb” mixed with a gas which is highly. compressed. 
Result is that by opening nozzle on end of the bomb finely 
atomized DDT (in solution) is sprayed out. The Davis 
Co., Terre Haute, Ind. and also Innes-Spieden Co. offer 
5-10 lb. containers. More economical than the 1 Ib. size 
available in filling stations. Also, the DDT in these larger 
bombs is dissolved in a solvent less harmful to plants. 
hl 
ge 
PINCHING -““TAKING” BUDS 
Pompons: Only way to insure getting the kind of 
spray formation desired year after year is to practice 
so-called “time pinching.” Under the flowering 
schedule (elsewhere in this catalog) will be found 
a definite pinching date for all varieties including a 
pinching date for several shadings on appropriate 
sorts. You must bench early enough (usually several 
weeks) so that plants will be in shape to pinch on 
these dates. For example, to pinch Blazing Gold May 
10 for August 1 flowering, you would have to bench 
in late April. 
It should be added that plants should not be 
pinched on the given date ready or not. Don’t pinch 
until the rooted cutting has made new roots and 
made several inches of new top growth. 
For growers in the southern states, these pinching 
dates should be somewhat later; in Canada a little 
earlier. Your own experience is the best guide. 
Mums: Same pinching procedure applies—and if 
followed, should time disbuds so that final flower bud 
may be properly selected. Generally if grown bud appears 
too soon, pinch a few days later next year. Two stems per 
plant is standard practice for most Mums. 
For those unfamiliar with the terms, disbud Mums pro- 
duce two types of bud clusters: 
a. Crown bud first to appear, consists of a flowering 
bud surrounded by vegetative non-flowering shoots. 
b. Terminal bud appears later. It is a flowering bud sur- 
rounded entirely by other flowering buds. 
Normally an early Mum will send out a crown bud in 
August. If it is removed and the best one of the vegetative 
side shoots left on, this side shoot will later send out a 
terminal bud. Some varieties if benched early will send 
out a second crown bud cluster followed always by the 
terminal bud. 
On early varieties not shaded, the safest rule is to remove 
crown buds that appear up to August 20, allowing the 
strongest side shoot to grow on. If a crown appears shortly 
after that date, it may be left on. Here again, experience 
is the best teacher. Try a few of each variety both ways. If 
crown is to be left, remove all side shoots. If a terminal 
bud is to be left, do likewise. This is called taking the bud. 
Shading will advance these dates correspondingly. 
On mid-season varieties, final flowering buds should 
have been selected by around Sept. 1 to 10; on late va- 
rieties by Oct. 1 to 10. On late varieties, the terminal 
bud is always used. 
_ Definite dates for selecting final buds must be tempered 
by the grower’s experience. The only really dependable 
date for you is the one based on last year’s experience. 
Keep records yourself. Try pinching, taking buds, etc., a 
little later than usual ot early and note results—in writing. 
(continued on page 23) 
[.15 ] } ss 
