Bee TR R MUM S Ged 
1. The cutting must be well rooted (roots an inch or so), 
but it must not be left in the sand too long. A week too long 
will harden and check it, and will surely give a slow starting 
plant. 
2. The cutting should be fat and succulent, not thin, hard 
and wiry. The first several batches from a bed of stock make 
the best ones. 
3. Cuttings must be free of disease and insects. Several 
important diseases are not apparent on the cutting. Good 
propagating specialists carry out programs of culturing and 
isolating their stocks against such diseases. 
The great majority of growers today depend on such 
specialists for their cuttings. We recommend it. 
About Insects and Diseases 
As we see it, it’s more a question of setting up good routine 
control programs that will eliminate the common insect-disease 
troubles. It has been our experience that application every 
week (every 2 weeks in winter) of a spray combining Para- 
thion, and wettable sulfur with a spreader will eliminate 
most of the common Mum insect and disease problems. Addi- 
tion of fermate helps on leaf spot. Here are dilutions: 
> Per 10 Gallons of Water 
2Y, ounces Parathion, 15% wettable powder. 
2 ounces fermate. 
3 ounces wettable sulfur powder 
plus spreader. 
The Parathion is the insecticide, and the most effective and 
versatile one we've ever used. It will give excellent control of 
the following pests if used regularly: red spider, aphis (green 
fly), midge, thrip, mealy bugs, tarnished plant bug, leaf tier, 
cut worm and leaf miner. It will also give excellent control 
of the leaf (foliar) nematode, since it penetrates the leaf 
tissue. It has a residual effect, making it effective for several 
days or more after spraying. 
The fermate is an excellent general fungicide. Mainly for 
Mums, it is aimed at leaf spot (septoria). 
Sulfur is particularly effective against mildew. 
This can be used without injury to Mums at any period 
except—crops showing color or with open flowers, better use 
Dithiono in aerosol bombs in such cases. 
Jobs the above spray won't do: 
1. Stunt: a virus that results in dwarfing to about half 
normal stem length and flower size, and yellowing of flowers 
on bronze and pink varieties. Foliage is slightly lighter, 
duller green. Stunted plants flower noticeably earlier than 
plants not affected. Control involves an extremely tedious 
selection and isolation process which is being carried out most 
carefully by the specialist-propagators. Once a plant is in- 
fected, there is no control. Typical stunt affects a relatively 
These aerosol bombs 
are one excellent 
means of controlling 
insects; a regular 
spray program has 
its merits, too. 
Whichever you 
choose, some regular 
preventive program 
is a must for good 
Mums. 
Wal 
EeOGR 
pae 
WEST CHICAGO 
ILLINOIS 
PS EMORR I= S: 1B-8 
small percentage of a variety scattered at random thruout the 
bench. There is no drying or browning of foliage. 
2. Stem rot: rotting off of plants at the soil surface—quite 
similar to the stem rot of Stocks. It appears only during the 
hot part of summer. Steaming of soil helps. Shallow plant- 
ing of cuttings and keeping bench a little on the dry side till 
plants are established both help. Even during summer, a little 
“heat and air” at night will help. Benching a few extras 
permits replacement of casualties. 
3. Petal spotting. Heat and air even during summer, espe- 
cially at night when humidity is high, will help a lot. Flowers 
must be kept dry as they open. Parzate spray applied to the 
flowers weekly from the time color shows helps—be sure 
flowers dry off from spraying before nightfall. Worst on 
standards and especially Mefo and Betsy Ross. When shad- 
ing during hot weather, drop sateen from 7 P.M. till 9 A.M. 
to avoid shading during afternoon heat. For more details, 
see GROWER TALKS, Sept. '50, page 20. 
4. Verticillium (Seidewitz Disease). Causes browning, 
drying up of leaves. Main control: culturing of cuttings 
which is done by specialist propagators and steaming soil. 
Also, when this or other foliage diseases threaten, avoid wet- 
ting foliage. 
Ed. Seidewitz, pink Mum, Yellow and White Shasta Pomps 
are among the more susceptible varieties. 
5. Dodder: There’s nothing quite so bad once it gets 
started! It is a pale green parasite-vine that grows all over 
and between Mum foliage and stems. It fastens itself securely 
to the plant and sucks the life from it. 
It is far cheaper to simply pull out and burn any infected 
plants. Do it promptly; it spreads very fast. 
A word on aerosol bombs. They will get most insects, and 
they're labor savers. For the smaller miscellaneous grower, 
tho, there is a case for spraying, using the Parathion mixture 
described at left. Reasons: 
1. At least in our experience, the temperature manipula- 
tion needed for good bombing encourages mildew. It’s the 
temperature drop that’s bad. 
2. When you bomb, you bomb everything—including the 
Kalanchoe, the ferns and the proprietor’s quarters, too, where 
they're connected to the greenhouses. 
3. Bombs are not cheap. Much of what they save in labor, 
they lose you in cost of bombs, nozzles, protective clothes, etc. 
4. Spraying, if done regularly, is absolutely effective. 
5. (And most important). We would probably carrv on a 
regular spray program with sulfur, fermate, etc. for diseases, 
so why not add Parathion powder and do the whole job at 
once? We do. 
Miscellany 
Let’s include here the details of caring for the crop: 
When to Bench? A good general rule is to bench cuttings ' 
three weeks prior to the date given in the catalog for pinching. 
Dates for benching of shaded and lighted crops are included 
in the schedules. Pinch once, on the date given in the catalog. 
If plants haven’t made several inches of new succulent 
growth, wait till they have. Always pinch into soft growth. 
Watering Mums. Once a Mum crop has really started to 
grow, it would be hard to overwater it, especially on raised 
benches. Dig down below the surface; take a handful of soil, 
wad it up. If, when you drop the ball, it breaks apart, the 
soil is ready for water. 
Mums like and respond to a “wetting down” of the foliage 
on hot summer afternoons. Lay off, tho, if any leaf diseases 
appear. 
Premature Budding. Occasionally a variety or two will go 
to bud shortly after benching, on worthlessly short stems. It 
is most likely to happen on cuttings received early (February- 
27 
