BSE TE IEE MUMS 
Pink: Reward 9W 
Jessie OW 
Pink Dot 9W 
Pandora 10W 
Linda Lou 10W 
Memorial 10W 
Bronze: Beauregard 10W 
Chevron 10W 
Paragon 10W 
Buckskin 10W 
For flowering Sept. 28 or later under cloth all the 10 week 
(10W ) varieties above may be used—plus the following: 
White: Belray 11W 
Highbrow 11W 
Crystal Beauty 11W 
Sculpture 11W 
Yellow: Golden Chord 11W 
Lollipop 11W 
Klondike 11W 
Pink: Grand Slam 11W 
Pinky 11W 
Minuet 11W 
Bronze: Thelma 11W 
Rusticon 11W 
Bronze Minuet 11W 
OFF-SEASON MUMS 
Years ago, Mums were flowered only during late fall— 
“normal season.” In the thirties black cloth shading came 
into commercial practice—and good Mums came onto the 
matkets during September and early October. The past five 
years have seen large scale use of lighting and now Mums 
are becoming an accepted spring and early summer flower— 
and even winter too. 
Why have growers been so anxious to extend the Mum 
season? The accompanying graph of average Pomp prices 
through the year tells most of the story, Mums have been in 
ample supply—sometimes surplus during the fall, but have 
been in demand and at good prices during spring and summer 
and even September. Furthermore, retailers like spring and 
summer Mums well because they will keep (often two weeks) 
—and because of the wide variety in color and form they pro- 
vide. A Gladiolus is a “Glad’’—different colors, yes. But 
consider the endless variety in Mums—from tiny white Pinoc- 
chio to giant 6-7 inch Mefo’s—and the delicate spiders such 
as Queen’s Lace that are enjoying so much popularity! 
Off-season flowering is no more difficult than many other 
cut flower crops. The rules are well defined. To succeed, the 
grower must, however, be prepared to provide the tempera- 
tures, accurate day length control (shade and lights), and will 
do best by staying close to prescribed varieties at least until 
he has had some experience. Note, too, that all these schedules 
are based on rapid, unchecked growth—good porous soil must 
be provided, plants must be well watered, fed regularly, kept 
free of insects and diseases. And remember, no Mum crop can 
succeed unless good, soft, clean, well-rooted cuttings are used. 
Off-Season Temperatures 
Temperatures for winter and spring flowering must be con- 
sidered by growth periods: 
A mighty convincing argument in favor of winter, spring, and summer 
Pomps and Mums. 
solid line. Source, our own returns, quoted prices in the FLORIST’S 
REVIEW. 
1948 is the dotted line, ‘49 the dashes, 1950 the. 
FOR 
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‘WEST CHICAGO 
IUUINGTS 
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1. From benching till you start short days (lights off or 
start shading date); A 60° minimum is best; 55° will do, but 
at 50° nights, growth will be slowed and stems too short on 
these schedules. 
2. Bud formation period—starting with “lights off” or the 
“start shading’ date and until buds are definitely formed 
(Pomps should show coior). Temperature thru this period 
inust not be below 60°. At 55° nignts some varieties will be 
more or less blind; also at lower temperatures you will get 
fewer florets per spray. 
3. After buds form, and until flowers are cut: crops that 
aie flowered in the winter period (Mid-December to March) 
are apt to be soft and of poor quality unless dropped gradu- 
ally to 55 or 50 degrees as soon as color shows. This depends 
some on amount of sun—the more sun, the higher the tem- 
perature which may be carried. Normally late varieties like 
Cameo and Vibrant can be finished at higher temperatures 
than earlier ones like Gold Coast. 
“50 degrees” here means 50 degrees at night, 58 on cloudy 
days, 65 on sunny days. A 60 degree house should be 65 on 
cloudy days, 72 on sunny days. 
4. The miscellaneous grower—planning only a bed or two 
of off-season Pomps in his 50° house—can’t provide these care- 
fully adjusted temperatures. We have seen good Pomps fin- 
ished all the way from Easter till summer in 50° houses. If 
cuttings are benched a week or two early it will offset the short 
stem problem. During actual bud formation, the 60° tempera- 
ture is provided at night by covering the bed with black sateen 
cloth and turning pipes on below it. Rather questionable for 
crops flowered between January and April. Worth noting 
here: growers not experienced with off-season Mums will find 
the spring and early summer an excellent time to try first. For 
many reasons, they are easier to flower thru May, June and 
July than they are in January-February-March. And June 
Pomps have so far brought fair returns. 
Which Varieties? 
As any grower knows, the more of any one variety that is 
produced in a given week, the less it will bring per bunch. 
Splitting your planting up among more varieties is more 
trouble, and means growing some that may not seem perfect 
to you—but it will pay in $$$ returns. 
The problem then, is to find enough suitable varieties for 
each flowering period. With this problem in mind, we have 
tried to broaden the number of varieties recommended in each 
period and for each color. We urge growers to at least try 
out a wider number of varieties—you will always find some 
better than others, and very likely your choice of best in each 
color may not agree with our experience. 
Correct Spacing of Plants 
First, for pinched crops: both Standards and Pomps, 7 x 8 or 
_ 8x8 inches is about it, with perhaps some allowance for varie- 
ties as you get to know them. For single stemmed (no pinch) 
growing, we find 5x6 inches close enough for both Pomps 
and Standards. Some growers follow the idea of closer spacing 
during summer (4x7, or even 4x6 for Pomps), and farther 
apart during winter flowering (6x6 for Pomps). As we see 
it, there’s just as good a case for a uniform 5 x 6 inch spacing 
thru the year. 
Percentages of Colors 
What percentage of a given crop should be white? yellow? 
Also what percent should be in Standards and what percent in 
Pomps? The answer depends on your local market or demand 
