Boh ae eA MUM § 
rae FOR F2LUa0 GROSS GES 
WEST CHICAGO 
IHLINOIS 
POT MUMS ‘ROUND THE YEAR 
As with cut flower Mums the “season” for pot Mums is 
gradually spreading. Early shading for flowering thru August, 
September and October is common. This past season a great 
increase was noted in pot Mums flowered during spring and 
early summer. They make a nice plant at this time and are 
not hard to grow. The pot Mums produced this past spring 
in our own trial program were eagerly bought up before they 
were really open—“‘something different” is the usual comment. 
Pot Mums during the real winter months (January-March) 
are not so easy to grow, but with more experience, plus bet- 
ter varieties now on the way, they may become a serious 
winter pot plant, too. 
The tables (page 41) are self-explanatory as to dates for 
planting, pinching, shading, etc. We should point out that, 
owing to the rather limited experience and records available, 
these tables may not prove entirely accurate under your condi- 
tions. Our tests this past spring pointed out how much flower- 
ing can be delayed by cooler temperatures. Bob Jung of 
Indianapolis reports that long spells of cloudy weather in 
midwinter will shorten days so much as to advance flowering 
dates substantially. Also, it will result in very short plants. 
Southern growers will find further corrections necessary—as 
with cut Mum schedules. 
Especially on winter and even spring flowering schedules 
where growers have not had previous experience, we recom- 
mend that your first season’s plantings not be too large. 
If you plan to give Mums a try, we urge you to keep 
complete records of what you do, flowering dates and height 
at flowering time. Without this information, you will not be 
able to make the adjustments in dates for mext year’s pro- 
gram that will enable you to improve the quality of plants 
you grow. 
About Shading 
Ap ply black cloth to all plants on “start shade’ date (see 
table) daily from 5 P.M. to 7:30 A.M. Black cloth shading is 
not needed between October 5 and February 15 because days 
are naturally short enough to set buds. 
Lights 
Light all plants between planting date and “start shade” 
date as follows: 
Hours per Hours per 
During night During night 
PALS US teres erate are 2 January Sisrsea. oe nee os 5 
Septempete canta 2, Febtua gy Sees eer eee 4 
October ace). kei 3 Malchive oct 3 
INovember. (inane. eA 0} a1 beg ASAD re ons Ree 2 
December, sv eet ee, 5 
Artificial light is not necessary between May 1 and August 1 
because days are normally long enough to prevent budding. 
One Pinch, Two Pinches, or Three? 
It seems to be a question of what price plant your trade 
calls for. A three-pinch plant is heavier and finer—but it takes 
three weeks longer to grow than a two-pinch plant. Three 
pinches mean more disbudding, watering, spraying, and the 
cost of pinching, too. The same differences apply between 
two pinches and one pinch. In general it is possible to make 
up for the difference between one and two-pinch plants by 
using more cuttings—many growers do. A two-pinch 6 inch 
plant in the spring may bring $1.75 (wholesale) where a 
single pinch (same number of cuttings) flowered at the same 
time would go for $1.50. 
In general it seems that most plants produced in the Janu- 
ary-March period are single-pinch plants—perhaps partly be- 
40 
cause space is at more of a premium then. Spring plants 
(flowered April-June) are predominantly single-pinch, but 
two-pinch plants are grown during this period. Plants flower- 
ered in summer are usually two-pinch, with some pinched 
three times. Toward fall more and more three-pinch plants 
are grown. 
Two-pinch plants tend to be not quite so tall as three-pinch 
plants. 
There are schedules where the grower pots the cutting, 
pinches, and starts to shade all on the same date—'‘pot, pinch, 
and shade.” In general, recent experience seems to favor a 
period of at least a week or two between planting cuttings 
and the shade-pinch date. 
About Temperatures 
At least a 60° minimum temperature must be provided be- 
tween “start shade” date and formation of buds. As with 
cut Mums, this can be provided in a 50-55° house by setting 
plants on a raised bench, covering them with sateen after 
dark, and turning on pipe below the bench. 
Before and after this period, 60° is recommended. Growing 
at much less than 60° during this “before and after” period 
will tend to delay flowering; the schedule must be advanced a 
week or two accordingly. 
Bob Jung has grown excellent quality Bonaffon DeLuxe 
and Queen of Pinks for February-March flowering at 65° 
to 70° nights right thru. One lot flowered at a straight 70° 
minimum was especially fine and hard—no staking, of course. 
Bob recommends a straight 65° minimum for late winter- 
spring flowering of pot Mums. Higher temperatures give 
fuller, better flower sprays; and do not soften plants if proper 
varieties are used. Blazing Gold won't stand these high tem- 
peratures in winter. 
Incidentally, it was our experience that, when growing for 
a certain holiday, it worked out better to aim our schedule 
to be in flower a week, or even more, ahead of the actual 
A nicely done specimen of Bonnaffon Deluxe. 
three cuttings in a 6 inch pot. 
after pinching to produce such a head of blooms. 
of the best. 
It’s a two pinch plant, 
Few varieties will break freely enough 
Bonnaffon is one 
See pages 44 and 45 for schedules. 
