

Shaded Pomps outdoors at our West Chicago range. No glass on that frame house. 
Shade is rolled up and down the roof by ropes as shown; waterproof canvas is used 
for shading so that flowers may be protected from fall rains. Mums seem to greatly 
enjoy exposure to the cool outdoor air over summer. 
CARE OF THE CROP 
Some suggestions to help keep them moving along during 
growing season. 
1. WATERING. Especially on raised benches, you are 
not likely to overwater. Without doubt 90% of the water- 
ing errors on Mums are otherwise—all too often a ruinous 
drying out. Always watch the edges and ends. Insist on 
your help checking these edges with the hose between 
waterings. It doesn’t make sense to keep the center twice 
as wet as the edges, yet that’s what often happens. 
Constant level watering as developed at Cornell is most 
dramatic proof of all this. Here, soil is actually kept muddy 
wet 24 hours a day—edges, center and all—all the soil can 
soak up. The fine Mums and other crops, too, produced 
under these conditions besides offering a great saving in 
labor, teach the hose waterer the importance of lots of 
water. Lots of it! 
2. FEEDING. Soil testing, easily done by any grower, 
is the best guide here. Biggest point in fertilizing is to 
avoid an excess, and occasional tests will prevent that. How- 
ever, there are a few general practices that can be recom- 
mended. When benching Mums to fresh field soil, we 
add 4 Ibs. per 100 sq. ft. of 20% superphosphate, a wheel- 
barrow load of cattle manure per 100 sq. ft., then rototill 
the soil to work this in. As Mums get into active growth, 
they will stand several light applications of a balanced 
fertilizer such as Vigoro. 11/, to 2 Ibs. per 100 sq. ft. will 
be ample. Plants on raised beds will stand more feeding. 
Where a soil is carried over from a previous crop and 
sterilized, soil tests are the only accurate basis for feeding. 
BETTER MUMS Gg 

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(nC, 
FOR FLORISTS 

Even here tho, experience shows that the 
application of phosphorous and manure 
once a year is helpful, and not an excess. 
3. SHADING. Certainly any Mums 
benched during hot weather will get off 
to a better start with a fairly heavy shade, 
in fact failure to do so invites loss. Also, 
during the hot summer months, Mums 
most anywhere will do better if given 
some protection from the bright sun. 
Under glass, a light shade will do. Out- 
door crops benefit greatly by cheesecloth 
covering. As light intensity drops in the 
fall, be sure to remove all shade. 
4, WETTING DOWN. You can al- 
most see a house of Mums “perk up” 
on a hot summer afternoon when you 
go over them with a light overhead 
watering with a hose. It’s like a cool- 
ing shower. Beyond doubt, it helps them 
thru the hottest weather and it certainly helps check spider. 
However, plant disease men are strongly against the prac- 
tice—it helps spread such troubles as foliar nematode, 
septoria leaf spot, etc. It seems to us that the practical 
compromise is to wet them down till the first sign of these 
diseases appeats. 
5. TEMPERATURES, in summer are beyond our con- 
trol except to keep all vents open unless storms threaten. 
And don’t forget shading and syringing. 
The standard winter night temperature for Chrysanthe- 
mums has always been 50 with 58 to 60 on cloudy days 
and 65 if clear. However, research has shown that buds may 
fail to form unless a minimum (night) temperature of 60 
is held. How then have we been getting along all these 
years at 50? For one thing, many varieties set buds early 
enough in the fall to beat the cool nights. Then, too, some 
varieties it seems will set buds at 50 or 52 degrees some- 
times. But, along with this, we must admit we have had 
Mums, especially very late ones, go blind or partly blind 
when grown at 50 degrees nights. 
So to avoid blindness, especially on December flowering 
sorts, better provide a night reading of at least 55, better 
60 degrees until buds are in sight. Watch the Garzas 
especially. 
PINCHING AND SELECTING THE BUD 
We hear a lot these days about “time pinching’’—follow- 
ing a carefully regulated date for the last pinch. It is cer- 
tainly no more work or expense and, for spray. Pomps will 
give a much more desirable spray formation. Advantage 
of a correctly timed pinch compared to too early or too late 
fear tomes 

