At two of the large chrysanthemum shows in New York City last fall, comments disclosed how incredible it seemed to many visitors that some of the chrysanthemums displayed could have been grown outdoors.
The general impression was that they must have been grown on large estates with the help of a professional gardener.
This was mainly due to the size, excellent quality and variety of the blooms, and the perfection of the foliage.
However, these outstanding specimens result from a new trend in amateur chrysanthemum growing.
It is a trend expanding rapidly because of these show exhibits and the outdoor displays of amateur growers that are open to visitors each fall.
Growing Chrysanthemums Outdoors
The chrysanthemums are really grown outdoors from May well into November in plots of moderate size.
Most amateurs root their own cuttings and, with only a minimum of assistance at best, attend to the necessary pinching, spraying, staking, tying, feeding, watering, and disbudding essential for the production of prize blooms.
Those chrysanthemums I refer to are presently listed in catalogs as exhibition, commercial and odd types.
Most such catalogs are only for the trade since these chrysanthemums have been grown in the North largely by florists or anyone fortunate enough to have access to a greenhouse.
In sections of the South, they can be grown outdoors for many years, and no doubt have been.
They have also been cultivated with conspicuous success in and around Portland, Oregon.
In the New York City area, only a few daring souls have had the enterprise to grow these chrysanthemums outdoors to any great extent.
However, I can say with assurance that, once these varieties have been tried—their superior bloom, better lasting qualities, and the fact that they prolong the chrysanthemum season a month or inure by coming into bloom at a later date than any of the others, will ensure their popularity.
The large flowering chrysanthemums are no more difficult to grow than any other kind, except they must be pinched just once and disbudded to obtain two large exhibition blooms.
They offer such an infinite variety of form and color and make such sturdy plants that a great deal of interest and excitement is added to the hobby of chrysanthemum growing.
Frost Resistance
Many of them possess a surprising amount of frost resistance.
On my plots, some of them were doing well up to November 13, when an exceptionally heavy frost almost finished the tow, which had not yet completed their blooming period.
Many had not yet come into full bloom during the late season on November 12.
Because of the stiff winds and the prophecy of a severe drop in temperature (which didn’t materialize), I picked practically everything, buds and all.
I kept these in pails of water in an unheated garage for over 2 weeks.
Many of the blooms opened completely during that time, and with the addition of over 20 potted plants, in progressive stages of bloom, the display was truly impressive.
Many of the blossoms were better than those I had entered in the various shows as they had enough time to mature.
These plants were placed in cold frames to ensure their survival for the winter.
Here they will be convenient to get when it comes to taking cuttings in the spring.
Cloth Protection When Frost Arrives
Nearly all home gardeners provide cloth covers to protect these late-blooming varieties from severe, early frosts in this vicinity.
Up to the dates mentioned previously, I have seldom needed mine.
But I find myself covering them even when there is no necessity, and unfortunately, I sometimes leave them without protection when a frost accompanies.
However, it is a great help if only to make it possible for one to sleep without worrying when frost threatens.
Frame Construction
This year, my cloth frames were of wood, the uprights 1” by 2” inches and the stringers 1” by 1” inch.
When finished, the height was a little over 6’ feet. These frames were put up in a day and dismantled at the end of the season.
Because of the impossibility of obtaining suitable cloth during the war years, the coverings are a huge patchwork of oddments collected from storerooms and attics.
My main planting was about 60’ feet long by 16’ feet wide, divided into 3 sections containing around 370 plants, set a little over a foot apart in double, staggered rows with paths 2’ feet wide between the rows.
After experimenting for 5 years in choosing different locations for planting, using root divisions, rooted cuttings, and even leaving in the old plants, and by trying different fertilizers, sprays, and mulches or no mulch at all, I have made no startling new discovery of my own.
However, I have become positive about several recommended things in the 2 good books on growing chrysanthemums that I keep at hand for reference.
Preparing The Beds For Good Results
I now know from experience that all beds must be thoroughly spaded and manure and superphosphate added for good results.
Rooted cuttings give me the best plants. Frequently root divisions do well, but they are more apt to produce diseased plants.
Sonic nurseries send out root divisions from which cuttings may be taken and rooted in time to produce good blooming plants by the usual flowering date.
But this is only possible if the cuttings are ordered early enough.
Almost any good chemical or organic fertilizer is satisfactory to use occasionally during the growing season.
It is best to apply this in the form of liquid manure after buds have formed, as it gives quicker results when used in the solution.
I like to vary my fertilizers during the season and even from year to year, but I practice using up whatever I happen to have on hand.
Spraying And Dusting To Avoid Diseases
Spraying is essential each year. It is impossible to avoid the introduction of disease from new purchases and gifts from stock plants.
Disease is also already in the ground from plants that grew there before.
As everyone knows, insect pests have a way of discovering choice plants without delay.
Spraying becomes progressively efficient each year with a better understanding of the insects and diseases that affect chrysanthemums and the development of new chemicals to combat them.
One recommended formula for dusting consists of the following:
- 5 parts of 10% percent DDT
- 2 parts of 1% percent rotenone
- 1 part Fermate
- 2 parts sulphur
This dust should be applied every 6 days beginning June 1.
I lost about half of my crop because of the tarnished plant bug.
It was a complete surprise to time because I had never yet seen a tarnished plant bug to recognize, and I suppose the use of 10% percent DDT dust this past year was all that saved me from a similar loss.
I did not use it as often as recommended, but even so, the damage was negligible.
Treating Leaf Diseases
For leaf diseases, I used a spray of 2 tablespoons Fermate, 1 tablespoon wettable sulphur, and 1/2 teaspoon sticker-spreader to a gallon of water.
It would be unreasonable to expect better foliage than I had, but it was not perfect, even though I removed many of the bottom leaves as soon as they looked unhealthy.
Some growers recommend removing all the lower leaves to a height of about a foot but I have never felt compelled to do this because so many of my plants have handsome foliage from the ground up.
Professor Alex Laurie of Ohio Mate University recommends a combination spray which I plan to try.
For 3 gallons of water, it calls for the following:
- 3 tablespoons fermate
- 1 ½ tablespoon wettable sulphur
- 1 teaspoon Dreft
- 1 ½ tablespoon 50% percent wettable DDT
- 3 teaspoons HETP
It should always be remembered that fermate cannot be added to the water but first has to be stirred into a paste with a small amount of water, and the rest of the water added gradually.
Mulching
Almost any mulch is good, but salt hay is cheap and satisfactory.
I prefer tobacco stems but find them too expensive for a large plot.
However, I suspect that they may discourage aphis, which gave me no trouble at all this past year while other growers in the neighborhood found them a pest.
Mulching saves a lot of work by lessening the amount of watering needed and doing away with the necessity of loosening the soil after rain.
It keeps the roots cool during the summer heat, although I do not make my mulch thick enough to exclude air.
Watering is a must as the plants should never be allowed to dry out completely, and good drainage is a double must for the plants cannot survive standing in water at any time of year.
Weather Troubles
Because the weather can upset the best-planned schedules, there can be no rigid rules for growing chrysanthemums outdoors.
The season also showed just how unpredictable everything could become.
To begin with, cuttings were late because slugs ate the first new shoots. Then they were slow to develop roots due to weeks of cold and rain.
The season was so advanced that they were put directly into the permanent beds. After that, it became intensely hot, and the cuttings languished between life and death for a few weeks, finally deciding to live.
By making extraordinary growth, all the plants eventually attained a height of a foot or two more than average but failed to set buds at the expected time.
Just as I had prepared myself to accept complete failure for all my months of work, things started to happen. This was about the middle of October.
All the plants developed in such a rush that the hardy garden varieties and a few of the large disbudded varieties opened in time for the National Chrysanthemum Society’s show.
There were not nearly as many as I had planned on, but enough for a fair showing. The quality of the blooms was superior to that of other years.
The most frequently asked questions regarding growing the large-flowering chrysanthemums are how to disbud, where plants can be obtained, and the best varieties to grow outdoors.
Disbudding
Disbudding is somewhat of a stumbling block.
My two reference books are the following:
- “Chrysanthemums for Pleasure,” by Ernest L. and Aleita H. Scott
- “Garden and Greenhouse Chrysanthemum’s,” by Laurie and Kip-linger
These clearly explain the difference between a crown and terminal buds but do not mention the varieties that do best from crown buds and those that produce better blooms from terminal buds.
If I have no one to ask, I experiment with both kinds and try partly disbudded sprays with every variety.
Having decided which buds to “take,” which means “save,” disbudding consists in removing all the leafy shoots around the crown bud or all the tiny buds surrounding the central terminal bud and taking off all other superfluous growth from each stem, and keeping it removed.
This process of disbudding goes on almost to the end.
It is amazing how persistent some of the varieties can be about sending out new budded shoots from the axils of the leaves along the stem and even new growth from the ground.
So many buds and new shoots are removed in the business of growing just one bloom to a stem that it seems a ruthless operation to the novice and requires considerable courage to undertake for the first time.
Sources Of Chrysanthemum Supply
Where to obtain these chrysanthemums is more of a problem in research than it should be.
Some amateur growers do not like to divulge their sources of supply and give no help when questioned.
Almost any large nursery that grows chrysanthemums handles some of these varieties.
Places in the South carry many kinds that are apt to be root divisions, but they are inexpensive.
All sorts of unusual types and the better-known exhibition and commercial varieties can be obtained from California and, if ordered by airmail, are almost sure to arrive in splendid condition.
Florists are sometimes willing to give away their old plants, which would otherwise be thrown out, and if these are wintered in a cold frame, they will furnish cuttings in spring.
I have never had trouble obtaining plants myself because I have been able to purchase rooted cuttings from the owner of a display garden which is the best of its kind that I have discovered in the East.
This was my inspiration for becoming involved in growing chrysanthemums in the first place.
As interest in growing these varieties increases, more outlets supplying the stock will doubtless become available soon.
Care In Varieties Selection
When it comes to selecting varieties, it is a matter of personal taste that one hesitates to mention names.
One should, however, try to choose varieties that will survive minor hurricanes, cloudbursts, light frosts, and all the other variations of weather that might occur during the long growing season, especially during those weeks when the large blooms are opening.
Some varieties show water stains on the petals after heavy rain.
Others, especially some whites, develop brown spots through rot resulting from raindrops standing in the petals for too long a time.
Still, others become limp wrecks after a few days of wind and rain and never regain their crispness.
After heavy rain, I always shake out as much of the water as possible from all of my chrysanthemums, particularly out of the large, heavy blooms.
But I handle them with care because the stems are often brittle after rain and snap easily.
One gradually discovers the varieties that are unsuitable for growing in the open.
They are much fewer in number than those that give satisfaction, so it is easy to make substitutes.
Sun And Shade
One thing that I have never seen mentioned but which I suspect may be helpful for my plants is that few of my plots receive early morning sun.
In fact, some are shaded until near midday.
This makes the blooming period just a trifle later, but I believe it saves my blooms from many injuries from rain and light frosts, for they have time to recover before the sun strikes them.
This may account for the feeling of the “experts” that they have received considerable protection, or they could not appear so free from blemishes.
I realize that this notion of mine is contrary to the generally accepted advice that chrysanthemums should be grown in full sunlight or, if this is not possible, give them the benefit of the early morning sun.
In choosing varieties for any particular locality, one should select those that generally come into bloom before freezing weather with severe frosts is to be expected.
A Choice Of Varieties
Among my outstanding successes, I am selecting about 15 to mention by name.
Of these, Indianapolis Bronze wins top place. I had two blooms from crown buds and one from a terminal bud on one plant.
They were all magnificent and lasted for weeks. However, a local florist told me that he could not sell Indianapolis Bronze but did very well with Indianapolis Pink and Indianapolis White.
Again, a matter of taste!
Other favorites were the following:
- Silver Sheen, a white
- White Albatross
- Grace Sturgis, which is a wine color with silver reverse
- Mrs. David Roy, a red with gold reverse
- Saratoga and Mrs. H. E. Kidder, which are both yellow
- pink, quill-petalled Patricia Grace
- golden Mongol
- Apricot Queen
- Yellow Albatross and Yellow Ambassador
- Yellow Beauty, a pompon
- Angelo, a pink pom. Angelo does well every year but was deeper last fall than ever before.
The plants were loaded with blossoms which lasted for weeks and attracted much favorable comment.
Three good spider types were the following:
- Bronze Sensation (I am told this was incorrectly named)
- Paul Miller, bronze and red
- Boubu, lavender
Chrysanthemum Growing As A Hobby
To enjoy a hobby such as a chrysanthemum growing to the utmost, it is necessary to share it with others somehow.
Joining a club or organization helps considerably, and competition in shows is a great stimulus.
In my immediate vicinity, at least 6 enthusiasts grow many varieties of chrysanthemums for fun.
It gives us countless thrills to visit our different collections, exchange experiences, and admire results.
All the members of this group have won awards at the shows of the National Chrysanthemum Society, which goes to prove that there is no magic or special individual skill involved in growing good chrysanthemums.
All that is needed is a lot of enthusiasm expressed by constant watchfulness over their progress so you will be on hand to do the necessary work at the proper time.