PAGE 10 
under the natural 
Cultural Pownters 
SUPPORTS 
With high labor costs, it has become necessary to eliminate some of the labor in supporting standards 
and disbuds, The old way of supporting with stakes or stringing each plant has given way to the 
box wire and cross string method of support. Turn-buckles are placed near the end of the bed and this 
will keep the wires much tighter. Some growers are only using one layer of wire and cross strings and 
are gradually raising it as the crop grows. Many still use two layers of wires and also raise the top 
wire as the crop grows. 
Pompons are usually supported by the string and wire method similar to that described above. Two 
layers of wires are necessary to give the pompons good support. When growing out of doors or in 
cloth houses heavier wire is necessary to give proper support because moisture often collects in the 
open blooms accounting for the extra weight requiring very strong supports. 
SOUTHERN CULTURE 
It is true the material presented in this manual is primarily from experiences gathered for the northern 
part of the United States. Yet many of the pointers are similar for all parts of the country. 
We have noted that the early flowering varieties from October 15 to November | flower approxi- 
mately one week later in the southern states while those flowering naturally November 15 to December 
| bloom one week earlier than the dates given in this manual. Last Pinch dates will have to be gov- 
erned accordingly. 
When shading, it has been suggested that the black cloth be placed on the beds late in the evening 
7 or 8 P.M. and left on until 8 or 9 A.M. Shading the usual time traps the excessive heat under the 
cloth and appears to affect foliage and flower buds. Pink and bronze varieties used for shading 
and early normal production fade to inferior colors. 
During the months of July and August little growth may be expected, therefore fertilization should 
be kept to a minimum. When the nights get cooler in September, October and November, growth 
is more rapid and the fertilization program should be stepped up accordingly. 
The young plants should be illuminated until May | to prevent premature flower buds. 
The length of day is constantly changing. In Ohio the shortest day has 9 hours of light while the long- 
est day length is 15 hours, in Florida it varies from 10 for the shortest and 14 for the longest. In 
Ohio the day length will change about 15 minutes each week. 
CLOTH HOUSES 
Much has been written about the construction and care of the cloth house. It seems that this subject 
‘s well taken care of, although there are a few new ideas that should be mentioned. 
To grow quality stock it is necessary to use some type of covering such as aster cloth, onion bag or 
saran. Saran is manufactured by Dow Chemical Co. and is a plastic that will outlive copper screen- 
ing. There are several colors of this material and the natural colored saran produced better quality 
pompons than did the green colored material, The amber colored saran allows more light to reach 
the plants. The plants growing under natural colored saran required twice the amount of water as 
did those under the green cloth. The important difference is that higher quality stock was produced 
colored saran, 
ae TE se 
Eien 
al Colored Sarg j 
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