BE PEER. MUM § Zab 
wall FOR 
WEST CHICAGO 
ILUNOIS 
F ULV OV RTS ies 
Chrysanthemum Culture 
By Vic Ball 
TRENDS 
Mums, along with Snaps, are the mainstay of the cool house 
crops, both for retail and market growers. The many interest- 
ing new developments in Mum culture are doing much to help 
growers produce better Mums with less effort—and for a 
better return. 
Highlights: 
1. Out-of-season Mums are spreading the Mum crop out 
over a longer period—away from the gluts. Many retail 
growers are reaching into August-September flowering with 
black cloth shading. For the wholesale specialist and larger 
retail growers, spring and summer flowering has much to offer. 
Three-crops-a-year production is for the specialist, and is be- 
ing done more than ever before. It is a close, efficient rotation, 
a steady work load (plant-pick every month of the year), and 
high return per foot, $3.00 or better. We are planning such 
crops for many growers already; write if interested. 
We also mail a monthly circular giving schedules, varieties, 
etc. for off-season Mum planting—in the northern states. 
Full details on off-season flowering both pot and cut flower 
Mums will be found on page 28. 
2. Direct benching, rapid growth. Growers are realizing 
the remarkably rapid headway a good soft cutting will make 
in good soil. Instead of 6-7 months, modern growers bench 
cuttings direct, grow single stemmed (no pinch)—and cut 
excellent Pomps and Mums in as little as 90 days after plant- 
ing (longer in winter). Under favorable conditions, we have 
had cuttings grow to 33 inches in 38 days.: Lots less work, too! 
3. Labor-saving angles. Are you using them? In our ex- 
perience the following are generally practical: 
Hose-boy watering—teel-type device that pulls sled up the 
walk. It does the job! Write for details. 
Liquid feeding. Injectors such as Smith Fertil-ade, Smith 
Equipment & Supply Co., 1615 N. Central Ave., Chicago, Ill., 
or Delta Dispenser, Delta Dispenser Mfg. Co., 8529 E. 11th 
St., Downey, California; or with Hozon, Plant Marvel, 12050 
Parnell Ave., Chicago 38, Ill. 
We have been having excellent results simply using dry 
fertilizers in our insecticide sprayer—with tip removed from 
nozzle. Fast and cheap. We use German potassium nitrate 
at 18-20c per lb. (Schramm Greenhouse Supply Co., Lee & 
Meet “Hoseboy”—in our 
several months’ experi- 
ence with it, it seems a 
practical way to water 
Mums mechanically. The 
150 ft. of hose is laid 
down the walk. At the 
far end is the “sled”— 
two nozzles rising from 
it. As drum (foreground) 
reels hose up, the sled is 
slowly drawn in. It works! 
Henry Jacobsen in the 
photo. 
24 
Overhead pipe supports 
for “igloo” type sateen 
shading. The inch pipe 
cross members rest on 
edge of bench (welded 
to a 12 inch piece of 1x1 
angle iron). #18 wires 
are stretched lengthwise 
across top of framework. 
Sateen lies on the wires. 
In the morning, it is 
picked up from the sides 
to form a long roll at top. 
Advantages: by far faster 
end easier than other 
ways, and saves cloth, 
too! 
Oakton Sts., Des Plaines, Ill.) Dilution: 2 Ibs. potassium 
nitrate per 20 gallons of water per 500 sq. ft. 
Igloo Shade. Applying sateen over an igloo shaped frame 
covering 2-3 beds is much less work, takes less cloth, and is 
easier on the cloth, too. See photo above. 
Stem cleaner. Whips leaves off lower stem in a flash! 
Supports. Single layer of wire-string moved up regularly 
does the job OK. Why use 2-3 layers? New type all wire 
mesh being used in California looks promising—eliminates 
string and stringing. Write Northern California Hardware 
and Steel Co., 209 Mississippi St., San Francisco 7, California. 
GOOD MUM CULTURE 
What’s a Good Mum Soil? 
It makes very little difference whether your soil is sandy or 
heavy, yellow or black. The tip-off in picking soils for green- 
house use: is it producing good stands of field crops? A soil 
that grows good corn or wheat will grow good Mums—if 
handled right. Of course, sandy soils need a lot more water 
and more frequent and heavier feeding. 
Most any field soil will do a better job of growing if 
11/4 inches of rotted cattle manure or of peat is plowed into it. 
If a soil seems “tight” and poorly aerated, and gives retarded, 
hard growth, add 2 inches of peat or manure, or a combina- 
tion. We have seen 2 inches of peat open a very heavy, tight 
soil so well as to grow excellent Mums. Where soils are used 
repeatedly, an inch, or better half an inch, of peat or manure 
can be added between each crop to advantage. Soils can be 
made sticky with too much peat! 
Most soils will benefit by the addition of 5 lbs. per 100 sq. 
ft. of 20% superphosphate yearly. It can do no harm. Beyond 
that, we add no fertilizers till the crop is in active growth. 
Good drainage is essential—cracks in the bottom of benches 
that are open even when the boards are wet. On ground beds, 
where the sub-soil is heavy, one or two lines of 4 inch clay 
tile should be dug under each bed. 
One or two cultivatings as the crop is starting into growth 
will help on soil aeration. It pays. 
About sterilizing: we steam fresh field soils before using 
them. In general, where soil is used for Mums-Snaps-Stocks, 
etc., we steam once a year. We've seen Mums grown con- 
tinuously for two years without steaming the soil. Of course, 
if soil-borne insects show up, they must be cooked. Likewise, 
if a lot of verticillium or stem rot appears on Mums, we would 
certainly steam before replanting to Mums. In other words, on 
all crops, we steam before planting if steaming will control a 
disease we have reason to expect trouble with. 
