DE oie ieeEek Me OEMETS 
tho, there is a case for spraying, using the Parathion mixture 
described on page 25. 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 carry 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- 
March) and on the earlier flowering varieties. To prevent it: 
1. Keep plants cool as possible, not over a 50° house. 
2. Apply lights 2Y%4 hours nightly thru September, 3 hours 
thru October, 4 hours thru November, 5 hours thru December 
and January, 4 hours thru February, 3 hours thru March, and 
2 hours thru April—starting the day you reecive the cuttings. 
3. Keep growth soft as possible—ample water, adequate 
feeding. 
Worst varieties for early budding: Blazing Gold, Legal 
Tender, Masterpiece, Silver Sheen, Constellation, Seneca and 
the hardy varieties as a class. 
The Feeding Program. Starting within several days of 
benching, we give them a light application of a balanced 
liquid fertilizer every several weeks in summer and fall, less 
often in dark weather. Sandy soils require more feeding. 
Occasional soil tests are of real help in use of fertilizers. We 
like to keep nitrates, potash, and phosphates all in the medium 
range. 
About pH: slightly acid (pH 6.8) to neutral is about right 
for Mums in our experience. In applying sulfur sprays to the 
foliage, you will eventually get enough on the soil to start 
driving the pH down. Tests will show this, and it can be 
quickly corrected with lime. 
Mulching Mums. Mums will respond very nicely to a half 
inch or so mulch of peat, especially during the warm months. 
It saves watering, seems to keep the surface soil from getting 
too hard. When the crop is out, you can plow this peat 
right into the soil where it will help the next crop, too. 
Taking’ (or leaving!) the Bud—on Big Mums. In late 
summer you will find one of two types of growing tips on 
the plants: 
1. CROWN. A flowering bud surrounded by non-flower- 
ing vegetative shoots. 
26 
E70 Fe LROPRS LaSalle 
2. TERMINAL. A flowering bud surrounded by flowering 
buds. 
Early Mums will usually throw a crown bud in August. 
This is usually removed and one of the vegetative side shoots 
“selected” or left to grow on. All other shoots are removed. 
Some plants may produce another crown which may again be 
discarded in favor of a non-flowering shoot. Sooner or later, 
all plants produce a terminal, the center bud of which is left 
—to produce the flower. 
On early varieties it’s safest to remove all crowns up to 
August 20. Early crowns are O.K. to leave on some shaded 
Mums. On mid-season sorts, terminals are safer. Final bud 
should have been selected by September 1-10; on late ones a 
month later. Your experience is the best guide. Keep notes. 
On single stemmed or unpinched crops of standard (big) 
Mums, always leave the center one of the first cluster of buds 
to appear. If the side buds surrounding this bud are not te- 
moved promptly, they will rapidly grow beyond the center 
bud. You will then have to leave one of the stronger side 
buds and remove the center one—and you will have a “dog 
leg” stem. Unpinched Mum crops must be checked over twice 
a week without fail to avoid this loss. 
Cutting the flowers. One big point: start as the bench is just 
a bit on the too green side, and cut regularly every day so that 
the whole bench will be off before any part of it is old. Old 
or pickled flowers will be older yet when they reach the 
market—worth little or nothing. 
Spacing—crops that are to be pinched (both Mums and 
Pomps) are normally spaced 7x8 or near to that. On this 
spacing, Pomps are usually pruned to leave the three strongest 
stems, big Mums the best two (or three depending on your 
market ). 
Supports—Why Three When One Does It? Years ago, the 
style was to grow Mums or Pomps 4-6 ft. tall or more and 
provide 2, 3 or even 4 layers of wire and cross strings. Mums 
were strung individually to an over-head wire—or staked. 
We find it perfectly practical, and a great economy in time 
and material, to support both Mums and Pomps with a single 
layer of wire-string. This assumes proper scheduling of the 
crop so that it will not exceed 3-344 ft. in height. It also 
One layer of wire-strings 
should handle Mums or 
Pomps—if moved up reg- 
ularly. We handle this by 
tying the cross-piece, then 
driving a 2-inch nail just 
below it to prevent slipping 
down. 
