> 
39.58) 
. Sag 
Ag 
4 
eis 
(Te a 
“~~ / 
Cultural Pointers 
Supports 
With high labor costs, it has become necessary to 
eliminate some of the labor in supporting standards 
and disbuds. The old way of supporting with stakes or 
stringing each plant has given way to the box-wire and 
cross-string method of support. Turn-buckles placed 
near the end of the bed will keep the wires much 
tighter. Some growers are only using one layer of wire 
and cross strings and are gradually raising it as the 
crop grows. Many still use two layers of wires and also 
raise the top wire as the crop grows. 
Pompons are usually supported by the string and 
wire method similar to that described above. Two 
layers of wires are necessary to give the pompons 
good support. When growing out-of-doors or in cloth 
houses, heavier wire is necessary to give proper sup- 
ort, because moisture often collects in the open 
Bests causing extra weight. 
Southern Culture 
It is true the material presented in this manual is pri- 
marily from experience gathered for the northern part 
of the United States. Yet many of the pointers are 
similar for all parts of the country. 
We have noted that the early-flowering varieties 
from October 15 to November | flower approximately 
one week later in the southern states, while those 
flowering naturally November 15 to December | 
bloom one week earlier than the dates given in this 
manual, Last Pinch dates will have to be governed 
accordingly. 
When shading, it has been suggested that the black 
cloth be placed on the beds late in the evening, 7 or 8 
p.m. and left on until 8 or 9 a.m. Shading the usual 
time traps the excessive heat under the cloth and ap- 
pears to affect foliage and flower buds. Pink and 
bronze varieties used for shading and early normal 
production fade to inferior colors. 
During the months of July and August, little growth 
may be expected, therefore fertilization should be kept 
to a minimum. When the nights get cooler in Septem- 
ber, October and November, growth is more rapid, 
and the fertilization program should be stepped-up 
accordingly. 
The young plants should be illuminated until May | 
to prevent premature flower buds. 
The length of day is constantly changing. In Ohio 
the shortest day has 9 hours of light, while the longest 
day length is 15 hours. In Florida, it varies from 10 for 
the shortest and 14 for the longest. In Ohio, the day 
length will change about 15 minutes each week. 
Cloth Houses 
Much has been written about the construction and care 
of the cloth house. It seems that this subject is well 
taken care of, although there are a few new ideas 
that should be’mentioned. 
To grow quality stock, it is necessary to use some 
type of covering such as aster cloth, onion bag or 
Saran. Saran is manufactured by Dow Chemical Co. 
and is a plastic -that will outlive copper screening. 
There are several colors of this material, and the na- 
tural-colored Saran produced better quality pompons 
than did the green-colored material. The amber- 
colored Saran allows more light to reach the plants. 
The plants growing under natural-colored Saran re- 
quired twice the amount of water as did those under 
the green cloth. The important difference is that higher- 
quality stock was produced under the natural-colored 
Saran, 
d Saran 
