G3 a 
WEST CHICAGO 
ILLINOIS 
c. Cloth. Cotton or aster cloth is more effective 
in keeping leaf hoppers and small insects out 
than. plastic (Saran). The Saran is more ex- 
pensive but will last many seasons. 
If Saran is used, specify amber—not the green. 
The green makes too much shade—reduces 
production. 
d. Cloth house construction—for full details see 
our Ball Red Book, page 58. 
e. Varieties. The following are recommended 
for August-September flowering. 
White: Shasta Yellow: Mary L. Hall 
Whitetop Aztec 
Belray Starlight 
White Popcorn Orange Beauregard 
Keepsake Yellow Shasta 
Pinocchio Gold Coast 
Snowdrift Golden Herald 
Sunup 
Bronze: Beauregard Pink: Reward 
Pallette Blue Chip 
Mrs. Dewey Tempo 
Chevron Pinkette 
Paragon Mayfair 
Buckskin Pink Dot 
Thelma Pandora 
Linda Lou 
The above varieties, plus the following may be 
used after October 1]. 
White: Crystal Beauty Yellow: Golden Chord 
Sculpture Lollipop 
Klondike 
Bronze: Thelma Pink: Minuet 
Rusticon 
Bronze Minuet 
#11. SHADE ON THE GLASS? 
Opinions among growers do vary plenty here! 
Our own experience has led us to these con- 
clusions. 
a. The less shade, the better as far as growth, 
production, quality of Mums (or Snaps, or Car- 
nations) are concerned. 
b. Standards flowered during the hot summer 
months will usually show petal rot or burn unless 
shaded fairly heavily (during flowering only) — 
and given regular Parzate spray. Somehow, 
muslin or aster cloth stretched above beds in 
flower doesn’t do as much good as actual shade 
on the glass. 
c. We have not been shading newly planted cut- 
tings the past two summers, It seems unneces- 
sary if they are sprayed overhead lightly several 
times daily till established. 
d. There are times when it just gets so hot 
under glass that if you expect people to stay in 
there and work, you have to put a light shade 
on. It does help cut down watering. And it re- 
duces temperature under the sateen covers in 
late afternoon. 
e. Pot Mum specialists who flower through the 
summer months generally carry a light shade. 
f. Tests at Michigan State College showed that 
ordinary Aster cloth (46% light reduction) cut 
production very substantially on greenhouse 
Pomps. Different varieties produced from 10% 
to 55% less bunches per foot under the cloth 
compared to full sun (in the greenhouse) . 
Makes you want to not shade! 
#12. “TAKING” THE BUD. 
Which bud to let flower on big Mums? 
Now that we grow Mums on definite schedules, 
this too can be reduced to simple rules. 
The rule: if the crop was planted and pinched 
on or near the recommended dates flower the first 
bud that appears. In other words, as soon as a bud 
of any kind appears, remove all side shoots and let 
the center bud flower. 
Crowns and terminals. 
Under long summer days (14 hours) a Mum 
will remain ‘‘vegetative’’—will produce “‘blind’’ 
growth tips free of buds. As the days gradually 
shorten towards fall, the Mum becomes “‘repro- 
ductive’’—and produces a cluster of flowering 
buds at the growth tip. 
When a plant is physiologically midway be- 
tween vegetative and reproductive growth, it may 
produce a so-called crown bud—a single flower- 
ing bud surrounded by blind or vegetative shoots. 
It might be called a half hearted flowering bud— 
produced by a plant not yet fully reproductive. 
As days shorten still further, the same plant will 
become fully reproductive and produce a terminal 
bud—a cluster of flowering buds. 
Some of these half way vegetative crown buds 
can be left on and will make good flowers, some 
can’t. Youcan'’t tell by looking at them. The point 
is that if the crop is planted, pinched, and grown 
according to recommendations, even though a 
crown might appear, it will almost always be a: 
““good”’ one. Hence our recommendations to flower 
the first bud that appears—crown or terminal. 
The rule applies to both normal and off-season 
crops. 
A possible exception. 
Under certain conditions of day length, tempera- 
ture, etc., some varieties of Mums (or Pompons) 
can produce a crown bud 3-4 weeks or less after 
planting. Such crowns produced while the plant is 
less than 18-20 inches tall, we remove and allow 
one vegetative side shoot to grow on. 
On normal season standards, a crown that ap- 
pears earlier than these dates, is best removed: 
Varieties Remove crowns 
that flower that appear before 
Oct. 15-Nov. 5 Sept. 5 
Noy. 5-30 Sept. 25 
Dec. 1-15 Ot 5: 
