Latitude 35-45° 
North of Charlotte, N. C., Memphis, Tenn., Bakersfield, Calif. 
Lights Shade 
Response Start Stop Start Stop 
Group in Fall in Spring in Spring in Fall 
7-8 Weeks July 15 May 30 April 7 Sept. 8 
9-11 Weeks Aug. | May 15. March 25 Oct. | 
12-14 Weeks Amuge2o April25 Feb.25 Oct. 20 
Interrupted Lighting. Promising as a means of improvement 
of spray formation, but not yet practical for the commercial 
grower in our experience. We are planning further trials of 
interrupted lighting this winter. 
Main problem: difficulty of grouping several varieties together 
under a common interrupted schedule. 
Colors and varieties 
First, what % of Spray Types and Standards? 
The southwest and California lean more to stand- 
ards at all seasons. For Midwest and East: 
Jan.-April May-Sept. Oct.-Dec. 
% Spray Types YS 70 60 
% Standards 25 30 40 
Color percentage of Spray Types 
Jan.-  April- hie July- Sept. Nov.- 
March May oc PAGg. © Oct Dec. 
% White 50 eb) 60 45 35 40 
% Yellow 30 30 30 45 30 ps 
% Pink 15 nes 10 10 5 10 
% Bronze 5 _- —~- — 25 25 
Note: Southern markets seem to prefer less white. 
Color percentages of Standards 
April- J July- 
Jan.- ine Sept.- Nov.- 
May Aug. 
March Oct. Dec. 
% White 60 55 50 45 5) 45 
% Yellow 30 30 45 45 45 30 
G% Pink 10 |) Ey — —— 5 
% Bronze — a — 10 20 20 
Varieties—hundreds of ‘em! 
Certainly no room to discuss them here. We've 
flowered over 350 in our continuous flowering test 
Program. You'll find our recommendations for 
each season in the tables starting on page 1/7. 
Also, if you’re through Chicago, stop in and see 
the new ones in our trials—at any period. 
Single Stem vs Pinch? 
Where time permits, we recommend growing 
pinched crops. 
On year ‘round flowering (3 crops a year) oper- 
ations, in order to realize the 3 crops yearly, it is 
necessary to grow them single stem. In some cases 
even a single Mum crop in rotation with other 
flowers must be grown single stem to fit into the 
available time. 
Single stem crops are somewhat easier to grow. 
Spray formation on Pomps and proper bud set on 
Standards is more sure. Also, the pinching job and 
yo L( tne 
WEST CHICAGO 
ILLINOIS 
the problem of varieties that won‘t break after 
pinching is eliminated. These problems are accen- 
tuated by winter-spring conditions. 
Continuous Flowering Schedules 
Actually most off-season Mum growing is done 
on so-called year ‘round flowering programs. A 
given area, usually not less than 6-8 benches is 
put on a continuous rotation, each bench produc- 
ing 3 crops during the year. Thus, an 8 bench 
house would produce 24 benches of flowers each 
12 months. The advantages of steady cut, steady 
return, and even work load are obvious. 
Because such programs are nearly always tailor- 
made to fit local conditions, none are included 
here. If interested, write our Mum Planning Dept. 
for details. (See page 16). 
About Spacing 
All aspects of costs, returns, grading etc., are 
vitally affected by spacing. No flat rule applies 
everywhere. 
A good starting point: how much premium is 
your outlet willing to pay for extra quality? The 
experience of most growers (ours too) is that we 
net more per sq. ft. for a somewhat smaller Stand- 
ard (Mum) than we have been growing. No less 
quality, but a jump or two lower on the Cornell 
weight grade scale is where we want to be. 
In Pomps, a common comment from single stem 
growers iS: Our sprays are so heavy and fine that 
4 stems make a bunch. But nobody wants them! 
They want lighter sprays—6 to a bunch. 
In both the above cases, the basic trouble is 
too much growing area given to each stem. Closer 
spacing would produce substantially more stems 
per foot—and of the grade wanted. One grower 
of standards on his late summer crops went from 
6x4 to 6x3 inches. This meant 8 flowers per ft. 
instead of 6—an increase of 33%. Average re- 
turns (per dozen flowers) on the closer spaced 
crop was only 12% less than for those grown 6x4. 
He had been growing a higher grade than his 
market wanted. Dropping a notch or two simply 
meant more production and more returns per ft. 
It’s much the same story in Pomps. A 6x4 
spacing in summer-fall means 6 stems per sq. ft. 
Under favorable growing conditions such a spacing 
will often produce sprays averaging 3 oz. If your 
trade wants 6 stems per bunch, that means you 
give out 18 oz. per bunch—and cut one bunch 
per sq. ft. 
The same area planted 6x3 will produce 8 me- 
dium weight stems per sq. ft. of which 6 will make 
an acceptable bunch. The grower now realizes | 3 
bunches per sq. ft.—33% more bunches from the 
same area. 
One point here: if a substantial percentage of 
culls appears in a bench, then either the spacing 
is too close, for that time of year, or else plants 
are lacking feed, water etc. 
fs) 
