BOR SLATER M USMS b 
mel ok 
FLORISTS 
WEST CHICAGO 
ILLINOIS 
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 
markets 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? 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 provide. A Gladiolus is a ““Glad’’—dif- 
ferent colors, yes. But consider the endless variety in Mums— 
from tiny white Pinocchio 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-Seascn Temperatures 
Temperatures for winter and spring flowering must be con- 
sidered by growth periods: 
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 color). Temperature thru this period 
must not be below 60°. At 55° nights some varieties will be 
more or less blind; also at lower temperatures you will get 
fewer florets per spray. We recommend holding night temper- 
ature at 63° instead of 60° to allow for cold ends of houses. 
3. After buds form, and until flowers are cut: crops that 
are 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 (or 75°). 
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 
28 
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 1s 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 
8 x 8 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, for crops to 
flower from June 1 to October 1), 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 
Here are the percentages we use for the Chicago market: 
Percentage of Pomps and Standards—by Flowering Periods 
Jan.-April May-Sept. Oct.-Dec. 
Y Pomps ibs 90 60 
% Standards 25 10 40 
Note: Standards may be flowered thrvout the summer and fall period. 
However, in our experience, the occasional hot spells that occur in our 
latitude are apt to burn petals and- fade colors of bronze and pink varieties 
badly. 
Color Percentages of Pomps—by Flowering Periods 
Jan.- April- July- Sept.- Noy.- 
March May June Aug. Oct. Dec. 
% White 50 DS 60 40 SD) 40 
J Yellow 30 30 30 40 35 20 
% Pink 15 15 10 10 5 10 
% Bronze 5) — — 10 2S 30 
Color Percentages of Standards (Mums) by periods 
Jan.- April- July- Sept.- Noy.- 
March May June Aug. Oct. Dec. 
% White 60 55 60 45 25) 45 
% Yellow 40 30 30 45 40 20 
% Pink 10 i) 10 — _ 5 
% Bronze — — — 10 35, 30 
About Single Stemmed Mums 
Each of the schedules gives dates for both pinched and un- 
pinched culture. Why single stemmed Mums? 
After several season’s experience with unpinched crops, we 
believe that, while there is added cost of cuttings because of 
the closer spacing, there are advantages that more than offset 
this cost—on some crops. First, you save 3-5 weeks’ time by 
eliminating the pinch. Production seems generally some better; 
Sprays seem to form up better, especially in winter and spring. 
