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CUTTING FLOWERS 
Quality flowers can be easily ruined by improger cutting and marketing. Standards should have 
their centers well developed before cutting as half open blooms will not have good keeping qualities. 
Pompons are ready to cut when the majority of the buds on the spray are open. If pompons are 
allowed to remain on the plant too long the quality is greatly reduced. There is also a great dif- 
ference in weight of pompons cut when ready as compared with those held on the plant for some 
time before cutting. The Chrysanthemum Society of America recommends that pompons be marketed 
in 9 ounce bunches. Pompons should be bunched in neat uniform bunches with the blooms on one 
plane and the stems all cut to one length. Tie the bunch lightly at the top and firmly at the base 
with string to prevent the flower heads from tangling with other bunches when handled. 
There is a possibility of marketing pompons by the dozen stems provided a uniform spray can be 
grown by following the precision growing procedure. 
SHIPPING FLOWERS 
Packing of cut flowers should be carefully studied. The most common error is over-crowding in the 
shipping boxes. Not securely fastening the blooms in the box will cause bruising of the petals. Cleat- © 
ing or sewing the stems to the box is essential. Cushion the blooms by placing enough padded 
paper on the bottom of the corrugated box and between the layers of blooms. Wrap the pompons 
with a loose wrapper. The wrapping paper could have the name of the grower printed on it. | 
Long distance shipments carry better if the cut flowers are packed dry. Reduction of temperature 
is accomplished by precooling the packed cut flowers. 
CULTURED STOCK 
Through the development of science your chrysanthemum cuttings have all been grown from stock 
that has been cultured to determine the presence or absence of the fungus that causes Verticillium 
Wilt or more commonly referred to as Seidewitz Disease. The culturing of cuttings is to place bits 
of the stem of a cutting into the gelatine-like agar medium which is used for growing fungi. If the 
tissue is not infected, no growth of Verticillium develops. As each cutting is cultured it is placed in | 
sterile propagating benches spaced six inches each*way. After 10 days of incubating the agar plates 
one can determine if the wilt organism is present in the tissue, All the cuttings that show the pres- 
ence of Verticillium are discarded and only those that show.a negative reading are saved and grown 
into stock plants. This clean stock must be grown under sterile conditions at all times as cuttings can 
be easily contaminated ,when planted into soil that has the Verticillium organism present. 

Verticillium wilt undoubtedly is the worst disease of the Chrysanthemum. If you obtain cuttings prop- | 
agated from cultured stock and provided you grow your plants in clean soil this disease should not 
be of any trouble to you. : 



Stock Plants Growing Under Additional Light Well Packed Box 
