I 


After all the costs and disadvantages are computed, we 
sincerely believe that the grower whose planting is limited 
will be ahead of the game in buying his cuttings. Signifi- 
cant, too, is the fact that the bulk of the rooted Mum cut- 
ting business today is in the big orders of 50 to 100,000 
lots. Some compromise on this question by buying part of 
their requirements early and getting top cuttings from them 
for later planting. This has the advantage of uniform- 
ity in the second planting and of clean stock thruout. 
However you decide to settle this question, the advan- 
tage of early ordering should be appreciated. Not only 
does it give us a chance to prepare for varieties most 
wanted, but early orders stand the best chance of being 
filled complete, as; and when wanted. 
Gi) tue, 

Picturing our method of packing Mum Cuttings. 
Mums Everg Mouth 
It is true we have Roses, Carnations, etc. most every 
month and enjoy them, but Mums are in a different cate- 
gory. They not only seem more fittingly a fall and early 
winter flower, but, for this reason we wonder if our public 
will accept them thru their natural season with the zest 
they now do if they are before them continuously. Further- 
more, flowering them out of season adds something to their 
normal cost, and under high temperatures some large ones, 
as we well know, are soft and tend to rot, and to lose their 
strong color. But some feel that there are pros as well as 
cons to this question. As a novelty in limited quantities they 
may be profitable. Besides, we are anxious to give the public 
whatever it wants and will pay for. In presenting the other 
side, we realize that it should be done by those who are 
all for them all the time. Our colleges are making a valu- 
able contribution to this subject, and their ideas on it 
follow by our “Vic”. 
The Detals 
Even more closely than with fall Mums, you must follow 
the rules of this winter Mum plan—dates, temperature, 
pinching, etc. To bring a bench into flower in mid- 
January, you must: 
a. Bench rooted cuttings: October 1. Cuttings and 
stock plants used must have been given additional light 
to prevent premature buds. We are able to supply cuttings 
“off season” so treated. 
b. Pinch both Mums and Pomps: October 15. Remove 
only growing tip. 
c. Light: from October 1 to November 15, from mid- 
night to 4 A.M. Use 60 watt lamps 6x6 ft., 3 ft. above 
plants. 
d. Temperature: 60 degrees night, 67-70 degrees days. 
Never below 60. 
e. Diseases: Use verticillium free (cultured) stock only. 
Our cuttings are all from cultured strains. Use collodial 
sulfur if mildew appears. 
f. Insects: ¥4 gram sodium selenate per sq. ft. 3 weeks 
after benching (midge). For thrip, roller, use DDT. 
g. Culture: Add nitrogen when soil tests below 15 
ppm; keep phosphates and potassium at medium levels 
Spurway. Keep soil uniformly moist; never above 3 inches 
on Cornell tensiometers. 
This January flowering is the hardest; low sunlight at 
that time washes out many colors. If you succeed in Jan- 
uary very likely you can bring them in any other time. Ken 
Post at Cornell has a fine table giving necessary dates etc. 
for flowering crops during any of the twelve months. 
Here’s the schedule as worked out at Cornell for a 
Mothers’ Day crop; quite different. On these spring plant- 
ings you must light the crop in early stages to hold off 
buds, then as desired flowering date approaches you must 
shade to induce bud formation: 
a. Bench rooted cuttings: January 15. 
b. Apply light: January 15. Same light bulbs etc. as for 
winter crop. Also same requirement on lighting stock 
plants and cuttings prior to benching; otherwise you'll get 
early buds. | 
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