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Cultural Pointers | 
TEMPERATURE AND LIGHT 
Chrysanthemums grow most rapidly under conditions of high light intensity and with a temperature 
above 60°F. 
Temperatures much above 90°F will act like a prohibitor. When the night temperatures are in the 90's 
bud development is hindered, this is especially true when black clothing in the hottest part of the year. 
To reduce high temperatures under the black cloth it is suggested that the sides of the cloth be lifted 
after sundown and dropped again before the sun rises in the morning. 
It has been noted that high temperatures are most serious in retarding bud development with late 
varieties. For this reason, it is suggested that when mums are flowered at periods when high tempera- 
tures cannot be avoided, earlier-flowering varieties should be most satisfactory. 
Blindness 
Blindness may be a combination of late planting, late pinching, too much moisture, too rich a soil 
and too low a temperature at bud initiation. It has been shown that if chrysanthemums are grown in 
temperatures much below 50° at the time of bud initiation the plants will remain vegetative and will 
not form flower buds. Blindness is usually associated with those varieties which flower the latter part 
of November or later. Not all varieties initiate buds at the same date. The late flowering varieties | 
may not set bud until October. 
To overcome blind growth keep a night temperature of 55 - 60° from September 15 on until the buds 
are visible. Likewise run the soil moisture low and do not feed during this period. After the buds are 
visible it is safe to reduce the temperature to 50°. 
When growing chrysanthemums for "Year Around Flowering" it is very important to maintain a tem- 
perature of 60° during the period of bud formation or blindness and poor budding will result. 
Lack of Color 
Pink and bronze varieties will have poor color when high temperatures prevail during the develop- 
ment period. Some of the new varieties retain their color better than the older varieties. 
Petal Burn 
When blooming chrysanthemums during high temperatures and high light intensity it is advisable to 
cover the beds with a cheesecloth stretched about 18 inches above the top of the developing blooms. 
This covering will also help keep dirt off the open blooms. Sunburn sometimes is confused with flower 
ray blight which is caused by Botrytis. Botrytis is more abundant during periods of high humidity and 
low temperatures. Ray blight can be controlled by spraying with Parzate when the color shows and 
repeat every 5 days. 
SHIPPING FLOWERS 
Packing of cut flowers should be carefully studied. The most common error is over-crowding in the 
shipping boxes. Not securely fastening the blooms in the box will cause bruising of the petals. Cleat- 
ing or sewing the stems to the box is essential. Cushions the blooms by placing enough padded 
paper on the bottom of the corrugated box and between the layers of blooms. Wrap the pompons 
with a loose wrapper. The wrapping paper could have the name of the grower printed on it. 
———— 
Long distance shipments carry better if the cut flowers are packed dry. Reduction of temperature 
is accomplished by precooling the packed cut flowers. 
is Packing Shed with Ample Room , 
