BETTER MUMS 


A fine stand of shaded Good News. Photo taken Sept. 17. Joe 
Bezdek, Wilmette, Ill. was grower. He reports that rooted cut- 
tings were benched directly May 23; shade applied July 8 to 
Aug. 22. Three flowers per stem. 
or equivalent several times during the summer and fall 
will be needed. Ammonium sulfate may be used instead 
early in the summer. 
To finish nice clean plants, they should be brought under 
glass again by Labor Day. 
Some growers plant cuttings out to the open field in 
June, keep them pinched and in active growth over the 
summer. In early September, they are lifted and potted to 
6’s. Very careful protection from sun, and good watering 
are needed to avoid loss of lower leaves. 
4, VARIETIES. Nearly all large standards or disbuds 
and anemones. They make a much showier plant than the 
button types. Current favorites: Blazing Gold, Marketeer, 
Sua Gold, and Yellow Beauty. Our new Granite State is 
an exceptionally fine pot strain, being quite dwarf. Also, 
it’s foliage stays up close to the bloom—no long neck. 
In general, avoid tall growers. For further suggestions, 
see Pot Plant Crop Schedule, page 20. 
5. SHADING works fine on pot Mums. Same methods 
as for cut Mums. See page 20 for schedules. 
FLOWERING MUMS EVERY MONTH 
Perfectly practical to do so. Only question is whether 
or not there will be a winter and spring market for them 
under your conditions. Cost per bunch will be higher 
fl 
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FOR FLORISTS 
inc, 

in spring than outdoor grown fall crops, of course, but 
For those unfamiliar 
with this year around flowering of Mums, it is a plan 
whereby our regular fall flowering Mums and Pomps can 
be made to bloom during any week of the year. This 
is accomplished by either shortening the length of day 
(black cloth shade) or lengthening it (electric lights used 
at night), or both. For example, to make the Pompon 
Lakme flower September 1, you must apply black cloth 
shade 5 P.M. to 7 P.M. from June 18 till all buds show 
color. To bring the same variety into flower May 20, you 
must lengthen the winter days with electric lights from 
benching date to March 8, then shade March 8 till all buds 
show color. In this case lights are needed to prevent bud 
formation till stems are long enough, then, since days 
lengthen in March, black cloth shade is needed to force 
the variety into bud. 
all flowers are worth more then. 
Cuttings used for fall and winter planting must have 
been light treated in the sand to prevent premature buds. 
We can furnish cuttings so treated. Lights, when called for 
should be 60 watt, 6x6 ft. and 3 ft. above the plants. 
Lights must be turned on the following hours. Up to Febru- 
ary 15 light from 12:00 midnight to 4 A.M. February 
15 to March 15 light from midnight to 2:30 A.M. Shading 
procedure is the same as described elsewhere in this catalog 
under Shading. 
A night temperature of 60 degrees is required during 
bud formation to insure getting these off season crops to 
set bud. Also, soil must be kept on the wet side. 
As to varieties, generally the whites and yellows stand 
the winter and spring flowering best; bronze and pinks 
are apt to fade. Some varieties of Mums may be used. 
Generally early flowering button Pomps are best. Varieties 
listed under Crop Schedule have been tried for dates given. 
While the project is a promising one, much is yet to be 
learned, especially regarding varieties. If you are interested, 
we suggest a fairly small trial the first season, including a 
maximum number of varieties. From these you can select 
those that do best under your conditions. 
If interested, see Crop Schedule page 15. It gives dates 
for planting, lighting, shading, pinching and flowering of 
many varieties of Mums and Pomps. 
INSECT CONTROL 
A most important part of growing better Mums. The big 
trick here is always to anticipate trouble or, failing that, get 
really busy at the first sign of infestation. 
1. MIDGE—One of the most serious and difficult to 
control. First, carefully select stock plants and cuttings free 
of it. Where infestation is already established, the most 
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