APrit i, 1903. 
THE AUSTRALIAN GARDENER, 
7 
* CHRYSANTHEMUMS. « 
Se 
Chrysanthemums for Exhibition. 
Read before the Montreal Gardeners and 
Florists’ Club by George A. Robin- 
son. 
The subject assigned to me this evening 
is too broad to be covered in one paper, 
and as the club has decided to hold a show 
next Fall I will confine myself to remarks 
on, growing specimen plants and cut 
blooms. lf this paper is the means of 
instilling a larger degree of enthusiasm 
into the members, and thereby, we get a 
larger number of exhibitors, I shall feel 
amply repaid. 
Sucessful growers of specimen: Chrysan- 
themum plants commence at exhibition 
time to prepare for the next year, by not- 
ing varieties, with their distinctive quali- 
ties, such as color, stocky growth, and size 
of bloom. Having decided on what varie- 
ties to grow, “eternal vigilance” must be 
the watchword until the prize cards are 
hanging on your plants. 
Cuttings from the base of the stock, 
rooted in the early part of February, 
make the best specimen plants. 
A. common fault is to leave the cuttings 
in the sand until they make a spindly 
growth and wiry roots. Nothing more 
effectually impairs the future constitution 
of the plant. Just as soon as the cuttings 
stand up stiff it will be found that roots 
one-half inch in length are formed. This 
is the time to pot them, and you will have 
a clean, thrifty plant that will go right 
into the new soil and render a good ac- 
count of itself. 
The first potting should be into two-inch 
pots, using a light soil, placing the young 
plants in a cool, airy house. Give the 
plants a two-inch shift as they require it, 
using a heavier soil at each potting. At 
the final potting, in June, use good, well- 
rotted fibrous loam, with a sprinkling of 
bonemeal, and burned refuse or lime rub- 
bish, to keep the soil open. Use very little 
manure, as too much humus has a ten- 
dency to sour the soil before the roots can 
make much headway, while the properties 
of value are exhausted wefore they can: be 
used. Pot moderately firm, and water 
sparingly, until the plants get well rooted. 
Pinching must be attended to regularly, 
commencing when the plants are in small 
pots and four inches high, | continuing 
without intermission until about the end 
of July. This work must be done sys- 
tematically, never allowing one shoot to 
gain strength at the expense of the weaker 
ones. 
After the pinching is stopped the training 
must be attended to. Don’t allow the 
shoots to get all bunched together, as this 
means diseased foliage. Give the plants 
plenty of room; turn them around occa- 
sionally to keep them in good shape. 
Syringe twice a day in bright weather. 
A. light fumigating, a dusting with to- 
bacco dust, or a syringing with some of the 
many tobacco extracts will obviajte the 
injury often caused by the ravages of in- 
sects. 
As soon as the plants are well rooted 
in the flowering pots, feeding should com- 
mence. Tho larger and stronger the 
plant the more food it will require. It 
is-far better to underfeed than to over- 
feed, until the buds are seb, as over-feeding 
at this stage will result in a tall and weak 
growth. After the buds are set feeding 
must commence in real earnest and must 
be persevered in. It is just about this 
time that the close observer realises what 
a gross feeder the Chrysanthemum is. 
This part of the treatment is not the most 
pleasant thing in the world, but on it de- 
ends the final success. Animal manure 
should be the basis of all fertilisers. 
coctions made from horse, sheep, or cow 
manure are the safest to use. Hen man- 
ure and nightsoil are both excellent fer- 
tilisers, but musb be used with discretion. 
Nitrate of soda and sulphate of ammonia 
in the proportion of one-quarter ounce to 
one gallon of water is beneficial. A com- 
plete change of food each week is much 
better than mixing several fertilisers to- 
gether all the time. It is impossible to 
give the exact proportions of each of these 
fertilisers. This, and the time to elapse 
between each feeding, must be left to the 
discretion of the grower. 
An occasional dose of lime water will 
keep the soil sweet and aid materially in 
hardening up the shoots. All feeding 
must cease as soon as the flowers begin to 
show color. 
Disbudding must be attended to as soon 
as the buds are large enough to handle. 
This work should be done as much as pos- 
sible early in the morning while the buds 
are brittle. 
In disbudding, commence at the top of 
the shoot, and if the top bud gets broken 
out, one a little lower down. will be left to 
replace it. 
Just as soon as the blooms begin to show 
color the final staking must be done; and 
at this time the plants will have reached 
a stage where it is possible to put each 
bloom in its proper position to make a 
symmetrical plant. 
For exhibition blooms, cuttings rooted 
the early part of March and flowered in 
soven or eight-inch pots, with one, two, 
or three blooms to the plant, are in every 
way superior to later cuttings flowered in 
six-inch pots. The blooms in the former 
may not be any larger, but they will have 
a better finish. 
The cultural decorations given for speci- 
men plants will apply equally for specimen 
blooms. 
A. problem in which experts greatly dif- 
fer is “taking the bud.” Myopinionisthat 
the early crown buds, with but very few 
exceptions, should not be taken. August 
15 is early enough to take the bud of most 
De-. 
varieties, and many will make exhibition 
flowers if the buds are taken later. 
Most of the failures from crown buds 
are caused by keeping them too cool. A 
temperature of 50 deg. at night with a rise. 
during the day should be maintained. 
With a terminal bud the plants must be 
kept cool to allow the latest formed wood 
to ripen. Neglect of this important mat- 
ter is the cause of most of the trouble with 
weak-necked flowers. 
Some delicate manipulation is required 
just before the exhibition to have each 
variety in perfection at the proper time. 
The best way to retard carly bicoms is to 
put the plants inte ? cool, dry, and dark- 
ened room, or cellar. They ‘keep much 
better in this way than if cut and treated 
similarly. To force a late ploom is a very 
difficult matter, and is very often attended. 
with very indifferent success. 
There has been a lot of discussion lately 
upon the varieties known as weak-stemmed 
for exhibition purpcses. I cannot see 
any objection in supporting a weak-stem- 
med flower for exhibition purposes. Many 
of the largest and most graceful reflexed 
flowers are too heavy to stand erect, and 
these varieties are the very ones that prove 
the most attractive at the exhibitions. 
The elimination of these varieties from 
flower shows is having its effect on the 
American. raiser, and while varieties such 
as the white and yellow Major Bonnaffon, 
Pennsylvania, Ivory, &c., are disseminated 
in large numbers, the more showy sorts 
are neglected; consequently, we have to 
rely on European and Australian raisers 
for these. 
“Variety is the spice of life,’ and espe- 
cially the life of a Chrysanthemum exhi- 
bition; so let us collect all the large, showy, 
and odd, as well as the commercial varie- 
ties, and have a show to please the public, 
rather than to suit ourselves.— ‘Florists’ 
Exchange.” 
> SOEs S 
Plants to Carry Twenty or Thirty 
Blooms. 
“T wish to grow a few Chrysanthemums 
with from twenty to thirty blooms each 
on a separate stem, and would be glad to 
know the names of six of the most -suit- 
able kinds (different colors) and how to 
manage them from the time the cuttings 
are struck.—YORKSHIRE.” 
Had you inserted cuttings of the varie- 
ties you intend to grow a month earlier 
you would have enhanced your prospects 
of success. Still, provided you commence 
operations without delay, and use some 
bottom heat to hasten the rooting, you 
may make up for some of the lost time. 
The most suitable kinds for your purpose, 
in different colors, are: Lizzie Adcock, 
rich yellow ; Crimson Source d’Or, orange- 
crimson; White Quintus, pure white; 
Pink Selborne, lilac pink; Bronze Soleil 
d’Octobre, bronzy-fawn; and William 
Seward, a deep rich crimson. Each of the 
above-mentioned sorts is of easy culture. 
