CHICAGO Amencan Bulb Company NEW YORK 
The Culture of 
Chrysanthemums, Any Season 
By D. C. KIPLINGER 
ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR OF FLORICULTURE 
OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY 
Only fine quality chrysanthemums can be grown to 
compete in today’s flower market. It is the aim of this 
catalog to present in brief but concise form the essential 
points in production of quality chrysanthemums. 
NATURAL FLOWERING 
Many growers prefer to flower the chrysanthemum 
only in its natural season and follow with different 
crops at other seasons of the year. 
CUTTINGS 
If possible, the cuttings should be planted as soon as 
they arrive. If there is no bench space available, the 
boxes of cuttings may be placed in a cool storage (32° 
to 40°F.) for as long as 2 weeks without damage, but 
longer periods are not recommended. To “soak up” 
cuttings which appear dried out from transit or storage, 
drop them in water for 10 to 15 minutes before planting. 
BENCHING 
The usual planting distance is 7 x 8 or 8 x 8 inches for 
plants to be pinched once. Set the plants quite shallow 
—deep planting may encourage stem rot. Even if they 
escape diseases, cuttings planted deep never start off as 
rapidly as those planted so that a few fall over with the 
first watering. Only 2 to 3 weeks is needed between 
planting and pinching which means that most cuttings 
will be planted in late June and July for natural flower- 
ing. 
SOIL 
Chrysanthemums do best in a well prepared soil that 
drains well yet retains adequate moisture and fertilizer 
to promote rapid growth. Organic matter is of the ut- 
most importance in obtaining a desirable soil condition. 
For years well rotted manure has been used with 
satisfactory results when added to the soil 1/3 to 1/4 
by volume. Since manure is no longer easy to obtain, 
peat has been substituted and for many florists has 
proven better than manure. Peat has practically no 
fertilizer which virtually eliminates dangers of building 
up too high a concentration of nutrients in the soil for 
starting young plants. In addition, it resists decomposi- 
tion and the soil will remain in better physical con- 
dition for a longer time with peat then with manure. 
Finely ground peat is not very satisfactory—only the 
coarser grades are recommended. 
Whatever organic material you use, add enough to 
“condition” the soil. A tiller of some sort will do a 
better job of incorporating organic matter than spading 
in by hand. 
Steam sterilization of soil is preferred to all other 
methods of controlling soil pests. Allow the soil to re- 
main at 180°F. for 30 minutes and then turn the steam 
off. As soon as the soil is cool enough, cuttings can be 
planted—there is no need to wait 2 or 3 weeks. Failure 
of cuttings to start properly in steamed soil is due 
largely to the fact that insufficient water is applied to 
the steamed soil. Steaming “opens up” most soil so 
water runs through freely. Therefore, it is very im- 
portant that steamed soil be watered thoroughly to in- 
sure that all parts of it are wet. This can be most easily 
accomplished by watering newly planted cuttings at 
least twice. Examine the soil carefully and if dry areas 
are noted, water again even though much of the soil 
may be soaked. If the plants don’t get off to a good 
start, they will never be top quality. 
If reasonably fresh manure has been added to the 
soil, damage from ammonia may be noted in the form 
of browning of the stem tips and very young leaves. 
This can be prevented by broadcasting either gypsum 
or superphosphate onto the soil before or after steam- 
ing at 5 Ibs. per 100 sq. ft. 
Sometimes the soil may be either too acid or alkaline. 
Sulfur or iron sulfate at 1 Ib. per 100 sq. ft. may be 
broadcast on the soil to lower the pH or make it more 
acid. Lime or limestone additions will raise the pH and 
generally from 3 to 5 Ibs. of either material are applied 
to 100 sq. ft. of soil. When in doubt, send a soil sample 
to your State Experiment Station or County Agent to 
have it tested for pH. Mums will grow satisfactorily 
between pH 6.0 and 7.5. 
FERTILIZER 
Chrysanthemum cuttings start off best when the 
fertilizer content of the soil is low. Therefore, complete 
fertilizers should not be mixed with the soil before 
planting because there is danger of root damage to the 
young plants. If the soil is low in phosphorus, the in- 
corporation of 5 lbs. of superphosphate per 100 sq. ft. 
will correct this deficiency and as stated previously will 
prevent ammonia burn. 
As soon as the plants are well established, it is time 
to begin fertilizing, particularly with nitrogen since this 
is the key element in promoting plant growth. It is 
important to remember that chrysanthemums are not 
“heavy feeders” and they will do best when given light 
applications of fertilizer often. Whether dry or liquid 
fertilizers are used makes no difference—it depends 
upon your personal preference. Because watering will 
remove some of the fertilizer, particularly nitrogen, it 
is suggested that fertilizer be applied every 2 to 3 
weeks. On poorly drained soil, less frequent applica- 
tions should be made. 
Some growers prefer to use complete fertilizers since 
they are easy to apply, particularly in dry form. Other 
growers will use just nitrogen and potassium because 
they are cheaper than complete fertilizers and the ini- 
tial incorporation of superphosphate has supplied suf- 
