ew eal Nenson Chrastintlamtens Gn lhirs 
FROM THE OHIO STATE FLORISTS BULLETIN 
CUT FLOWERS 
The schedule of operations is that of Yoder Bros., 
adapted for the 40° to 45° north latitude (New 
England, New York, Pennsylvania, north half of 
Ohio, north half of Indiana, north half of Illinois, 
lowa, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, Washington, 
and Oregon). For the latitude of 35° to 40° north 
(southern New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, Vir- 
ginia, West Virginia, North Carolina, Kentucky, 
Tennessee, southern Ohio, southern Indiana, south- 
ern Illinois, Missouri, Kansas, Colorado, northern 
Arkansas, northern Oklahoma, southern Nevada, 
southern Utah, and central California) a_ slight 
modification of the schedule should be made be- 
tween the dates of July 21 and March 3 only. This 
modification consists of cutting off one week of 
long day treatment or, to state in another way, 
give short day conditions one week earlier than is 
shown in the schedule presented here. For more 
southern latitudes, other schedules should be 
consulted. 
Even though you may not be interested in 
chrysanthemums at all seasons, there is consider- 
able interest in the flowering of the mum for 
specific periods. For example, the production of 
white, yellow, and light pink pompons for the 
spring months has been very profitable for some 
growers. The schedule can also be used for pro- 
duction of standard mums when natural varieties 
are mediocre or poor. This is well illustrated in 
December, when Smith’s Late White and Tobin’s 
Late Yellow may be the only varieties available. 
In this case it is quite simple to delay the flowering 
of the Indianapolis group, the Mefos, or the Queens 
for December to have good quality standards for 
this period. 
CUTTINGS 
The cuttings must be taken from lighted stock 
plants, and it is simplest to buy them from the 
specialist who is doing it. 
LIGHTING 
To prevent formation of flower buds the light in- 
tensity must be 10 foot-candles (F.C.), For an ex- 
tensive area, additional light is best supplied by 
bulbs near the roof of the greenhouse and you 
should consult your local light and power company 
concerning the cheapest method of providing the 
desired intensity. For smaller installations the spac- 
ing given below will be satisfactory for a bench 
4 feet wide: 
60-watt bulbs in a reflector, spaced 4 feet apart, 2 to 4 feet 
above the tops of the plants. 
100-watt bulbs in a reflector, spaced 6 feet apart, 2 to 4 feet 
above the tops of the plants. 
200-watt bulbs in a reflector, spaced 8 feet apart, 2 to 4 feet 
above the tops of the plants. 
Lights must be used between August 1 and May 
15 because during this period the day length is 
short enough to cause flower buds to form on some 
of the varieties. 
Results of work by experiment stations and com- 
mercial firms show that best results with lights are 
secured by interrupting the night. Actually, the 
chrysanthemum is a “long night” plant rather than 
a “short day” plant. This may appear to be splitting 
hairs, but flower buds can be prevented from 
forming by interrupting the night even though at 
the same time the day length is short. Therefore, 
begin lighting at 10 p.m. for the number of hours 
shown below: 
Month Hours of lighting per night 
August 2 
September 2% 
October 
November 
December 
January 
February 
March 
April 
May 1-15 
Though manipulation of light to control spray 
formation is feasible, it is too complicated for the 
grower who is not a mum specialist. 
SHADING 
Between September 1 and February 15 the day 
length is short enough to cause flower buds to 
form on all varieties. Therefore it is not necessary 
to cover the plants with black cloth during this 
period. However, if you have a number of houses 
or benches in mums and the lights are not all 
turned off the same day, then you must use black 
cloth as a curtain between lighted and unlighted 
benches. 
NONWwWRaORW 
TEMPERATURE 
To insure rapid vegetative growth as well as 
flower bud set, the night temperature must be 
60°F. There are only a few crops that can be 
grown with chrysanthemums at the 60°F. night 
temperature during the fall, winter, and early 
spring months. Chrysanthemums can be grown 
with roses, gardenias, and China asters. However, 
stocks, snapdragons, and other cool crops cannot 
be grown with chrysanthemums. Flowers of extra 
fine quality can be produced by gradually lower- 
ing the night temperature to 50°F. after the flower 
buds are visible. This requires more time than 
shown in the schedule and cannot be practiced 
where chrysanthemums in various stages of de- 
velopment are being grown in the same house. 
In hot summer weather, black cloth shade should 
be applied late in the afternoon and removed 
later in the morning—this will reduce the heat 
under cloth. Some varieties will not develop prop- 
erly if it is too warm under the cloth, while pink 
and bronze varieties fade at high temperatures. 
Page 27 
