y/o Gs tue 
WEST CHICAGO 
ILLINOIS 
Pot Mums ‘Rouud the Year 
Even faster than cut mums, year ‘round pot 
mums are rising toward a top spot among pot 
plants. 
#1 reason: a six inch plant with 10-12 large, 
colorful blooms is produced in less than 3 months! 
Gross: $1.50 to $1.75 on about one sq. ft. Demand 
is good for them round the year, with the possible 
exception of January-February. They are moving 
well in all sections—even in California and Florida 
in recent months. 
Properly scheduled, they’re compact, easy to 
handle, and very long-lasting. 
One pinch or two? 
For the fellow who wants a uniformly good me- 
dium price ($1.50-$1.75) 6 inch pot mum round 
the year, we recommend single pinch clear thru. If 
you grow for the carriage trade, and can get more 
for a fancy plant, then the two pinch method is 
the way to do it. Possibly you will want some of 
each, especially toward fall. Schedules for both 
methods follow. 
Two-pinch growing takes 3-4 weeks more time, 
some less cuttings. 
Temperatures—65° does it 
Definitely we recommend 65° nights (70° 
cloudy days, 75° clear days) for off-season pot 
growing. We've tried 60°; you just don’t get the 
even bud set and flower development that you do 
ahs See 
After color shows, we drop them to 55°, or even 
less if we’re holding them for a holiday. 
Plants too tall? 
The old cure: keep ‘em dry and starved. The 
new one: delayed pinch. 
With this new trick, another product of our flori- 
culture schools, we are able to regulate the final 
height of the plant almost at will. The accompany- 
ing photos tell the story (see next page). 
The year round pot mum schedules that follow 
take full advantage of this delayed pinch idea. If, 
for any reason, your pot mums flower too tall, 
chances are that delaying the final pinch for 5 to 
7 days more next year will bring them down. 
Two other pointers on too tall plants: 
1. Crowding plants unduly makes them grow 
tall and chimney shaped instead of spreading. 
Well-grown 6 inch pot mums should need and 
get 11/ sq. ft. in their final stages. 
2. Pinching: with cut flowers, we get the strong- 
est, most, and best breaks when we pinch only 
the top 2 inch or so out. Pot mum schedules 
are designed so that only 1 or 2 inches of new 
growth should normally occur prior to a pinch. 
However, due to delayed pinching, varying rates 
n ’ 
It’s very compact, large flowered, and dependable. 
year. 
Good ‘round the 
We give it 3 to 5 extra long days in spring to keep it from 
being too short. 
of growth, etc., plants may make up to 6-8 
inches of new growth before the pinch. If only 
the tip of this is removed, a tall, leggy plant is 
coming your way. Only answer we find: cut them 
back to 1 or 2 inches of the new growth, even 
if it is harder wood. In any case, leave two pairs 
of leaves. 
Remember: new breaks are encouraged by am- 
ple nitrates, water, and sunlight (space). 
Many varieties if carefully grown can be kept 
so short they won't need staking. If they do, we 
set three stakes around outside of pot, run a 
string around them. Makes a sort of fence 
around the plant. Lots less work than tying indi- 
vidual stems. 
Azalea pots, being somewhat shorter, are usual- 
ly used for pot mums. 
Watch those little fellows! 
Last spring we grew a few 3 inch Garden varie- 
ties—one cutting, single pinch. In flower for 
Mother's Day and late May, they caught a lot of 
attention from local retailers. We got 50c for 
them. 
Showy little fellows, they were well flowered, 
and they can be planted out in the customer’s yard 
for more flowers in the fall. 
Details, page 36. 
About rapid growth 
Needless to say, all we covered about humus, 
feeding, ample. water, etc. under cut mums applies 
here—with interest! After all, we’re growing a lot 
(Continued on page 35) 
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