THE ABC OF MUM CULTURE 
A — Apple-blossom time is the beginning of Mum planting time. 
B — Bonemeal is an excellent fertilizer for Mums. 
C — Cover with porous light material for winter. 
D — DDT 5% dust or spray will keep bugs off. 
E — Early varieties are not recommended for hot climates. 
F — Fall planting is not recommended in the North. 
G — Give Mums an ordinary good rich soil. 
H — Hardy Mums bloom from August to November. 
I — Ice over the crowns in winter will kill them. 
J — Join the National Chrysanthemum Society. 
K — Keep well watered during hot dry weather. 
L — Leaves are not good cover unless kept dry. 
M — Mums from Minnesota can’t be beat. 
N — Nicotine sulphate (Black-Leaf 40) will kill aphis. 
O — Overhead watering is not recommended. 
P — Pinching keeps plants sturdy and low. 
Q — Quality will improve by cultivation. 
R — Remove all but a few buds to grow those large flowers. 
S — Shade will make plants grow taller and bloom much Iater. 
T — Transplant late varieties into pots before frost and enjoy them 
in the house. 
U — Use a tablespoonful of commercial fertilizer per plant to give 
plants a good start. 
V — Very close planting will make spindly plants. Eighteen inches 
apart each way is sufficient. 
W — Window-boxes are beautiful planted with Mums in fall. 
X — Plant only sure-to-bloom plants. 
Y — Young, vigorous, 24-inch potted plants are best. 
Z — Zinc labels are permanent. 
Our Fall Mum Display 
Everyone is cordially invited to our annual Fall Mum Show. 
Last season we had over 100,000 plants in our fields and well over 
],000,000 flowers. Here you can see growing side by side more than 
500 varieties of Hardy Chrysanthemums. Many of these are seed- 
lings—the Mums of Tomorrow—in the different stages of selection. 
Really, it is a beautiful sight to see. Our very first varieties begin to 
bloom about mid-August, and by early September a great many of 
the earlier kinds are in full bloom. Between September 15 and 25 is 
usually when the fields are at their best. During this time and up to 
Thanksgiving we maintain a display of most all varieties in our 
greenhouses. This alone is well worth seeing. If you can, come and 
enjoy the MUMS with us. 
Mums for Your Window-box 
When the first light frosts of fall have made your window-boxes 
unsightly by killmg the tender plants in them, you can enjoy the full 
glory of Mums. These dreary-looking window-boxes can be trans- 
formed into a fairyland of color for two or three weeks by simply 
transplanting Mums from your garden into them. Select low, com- 
pact plants m full bud and bloom, dig them carefully and plant 
directly in the box. 
WINTER PROTECTION 
The purpose of winter protection is probably more to keep the cold 
in the ground than to keep it out. Here in southern Minnesota where 
the temperature often goes as low as 25 degrees below zero, we seldom 
have many hardy Mum casualties from winter injury. We usually 
have snow covering our gardens from December to March. It is 
probably the alternate thawing and freezing that does the winter 
damage to garden Mums. We have found that any light material 
that will stay more or less dry during the winter, is ideal for covering. 
Excelsior, evergreen boughs, marsh hay, or corn stalks are very good 
if applied after the ground is frozen. Leaves are usually not very 
satisfactory, for they are a soggy mass by spring and tend to rot the 
crowns. Dry leaves, applied in the fall and covered with any water- 
proof material to keep them dry, are ideal. The U. S. Department of 
Agriculture has found that rock wool batts—the same material used 
in insulating houses—is perhaps the closest substitute for snow of 
anything found so far. The original cost would be greater, but since 
this is ‘a mineral material, it would not rot and could be used year 
after year. 
MUM “ul DONT'S” 
Don’t be Mum-less. 
Don’t plant in the shade. The plants will grow too tall and bloom 
weeks later. 
Don’t plant Mums in the fall in the North. 
Don’t plant extra-early varieties in the South, for they will bloom 
too early when the weather is still hot. 
Don’t plant any but sure-to-bloom Mums for best results. 
Don’t water from overhead. 
Don’t pinch early varieties after July 20, because buds are forming 
by that time. 
Don’t CUT the flowers for bouquets; break them off, and they will 
absorb a greater amount of water. 
Don’t kill them with kindness. 

