Recently, a homeowner shared to me: “I don’t care for chrysanthemums.” Then, almost as though speaking to herself she added: “They just won’t grow for me.”
As she looked at a varicolored array of potted mums which decorated the room, there was an expression that revealed she did like them and that she would enjoy growing them if only they would, as she undoubtedly felt, cooperate,
She is one of many, I know, since each year I answer a myriad of questions about the failure of chrysanthemums to grow and flower properly.
Sino-Jap Flower Lack of Success
Despite this seeming lack of success this Sino-Jap flower, which we grow in our gardens, is among the top 6 or 7 favorite perennials and the only one which is in its flowering prime in the autumn.
It is also one of the easiest to grow if you understand and give it the conditions it. needs. Though these needs are specific, they are not difficult to provide.
Lack of Hardiness
Lack of hardiness is the most common criticism of the backyard gardener. Nevertheless, it is one of the easiest difficulties to overcome.
First, it is essential to be certain that your plants are hardy garden varieties and not greenhouse types.
Choose with a Purpose
In addition to hardiness, look for the following characteristics when choosing chrysanthemum varieties:
- Architectural Quality—this is concerned with the shape and size of the plant. Dwarfs are the popularly known cushion mums, though the name, azaleamum, refers to this same type.
- Cushion mums form low, shapely, rounded masses, broader than they are tall, with relatively small formal flowers, though varieties have larger blooms.
- All are useful in rock gardens or as border plants in front of taller annuals and perennials.
- Size and Shape of Flower—a myriad of choices are possible, varying from the inch, or smaller, button types to the 10”-inch expanse of the (disbudded) exhibition types. The variation of bloom of some of the popular types is shown on the opposite page.
- Time of Bloom—an unbelievably wide range is available, covering several months of the growing season.
- Color—what you choose depends on your taste. Remember, however, that a mass planting of two or three harmonizing or complementary colors is far more effective than a jumble of unrelated colors.
I suspect that nearly as many mums are planted in the fall as in the spring, if not more. Either time is good, though spring is safer for the beginner, who does not know how to handle plants in the fall.
One advantage of fall planting is that it allows making a personal selection of types and colors from plants in bloom.
No matter how many discouraging experiences you have had in the past with fall planting, I suggest that you try it again, but with the following procedure.
Lift Plants Carefully
After the flowers have passed their prime, lift the plants, keeping the soil intact, and set them on top of the ground in a well-drained protected spot.
Against the south, east, or west side of a building or wall is ideal. Cut off the tops to within an inch of the ground and cover the plants with about 4” inches of coarse straw or salt hay.
Resenting Water-Soaked Soil
This procedure I have repeated with success, and the reason behind it is that mums resent standing in water-soaked soil, where the alternate freezing and thawing do irreparable harm to the roots.
On top of the ground, they are free of this excess water and survive remarkably well.
This practice also serves another useful purpose.
Unlike peonies, which may be left undisturbed in the same spot for eight or 10 years, chrysanthemums require re-setting every year to produce Vigorous, floriferous plants. There are two reasons for this.
- One, root aphids and nematodes (eelworms) will sap the life from the roots of plants that are established for any length of time.
- Two, plants are more productive when grown from young, vigorous divisions or cuttings rather than allowed to grow woody at the base.
Side shoots, taken from old clumps in May or early June and washed carefully, will produce desirable plants. Better still are plants started from cuttings, taken any time from early to late spring, and rooted in a mixture of equal parts of sand and peat.
New Tip for Growing
Take the new tip growth when shoots are 5” or 6” inches tall. A length of 3” to 4” inches is convenient, but remove all the leaves from the lower half.
Then dip the end of the cutting in a rooting hormone and insert it in a hole made in the rooting mixture with a pencil.
If you are making several cuttings, space them 2” or 3” inches apart and firm the rooting mixture around them before watering thoroughly.
If you have a small number of cuttings, they can be rooted in a clay bulb pan. The next step is to place the container in a receptacle of water in a semi-shaded place.
Watering Method
This method of watering will minimize any danger from damping off or other fungus infection.
As soon as new growth begins, withhold water gradually unless plants show signs of wilting. Remove the receptacle containing water and from now on water cuttings from above.
Within a month or 6 weeks, depending on the temperature and other growing conditions, they will be ready to transfer to the cold frame or box that is covered with glass, where the essential humidity may be provided.
Gradually increase the ventilation by raising the sash or panes of glass to harden them off, so that the new plants may be set in the garden in late May or early June.
Prepare Soil Deeply
When planting, remember that chrysanthemums make vigorous roots that are gross feeders, so prepare the soil at least 18” inches, for best results.
A suitable formula consists of:
- 2 parts soil
- 2 parts peat
- 1 part sand
- 1 part rotted or processed cow manure
Completed Organic Fertilizers
Better even than manure, is one of the new completely organic fertilizers with trace elements, which are now coming into the market.
Then for each plant, work in a handful of either bonemeal or superphosphate. Such soil will be light and friable and contain enough food to give the plants a good start.
When setting the plants, place them slightly deeper (an inch or so) than they were in the cold frames or boxes and firm the soil well, leaving a depression around the stem for watering.
Spatial Treatment and Watering
Avoid placing too close or too near other plants because they need a space to develop fully without crowding.
At first, plants will need watering every other day, but once established, every week or so is sufficient.
Only, avoid wetting the leaves, as this spreads diseases and eelworms. The new soluble plant foods are excellent for feeding mums since they are readily available and balanced to produce husky plants.
Feeding of Plants
Feeding once every 2 weeks is usually often enough and it can be applied when watering.
If an individual plant seems stunted or slower than the others, it can often be stimulated by an application of nitrate of soda or a 10-6-4 commercial fertilizer worked into the soil above the roots and watered in.
Keep these plant foods at least 6” or 8” inches away from the stems, as well as the foliage.
Many gardeners worry as to whether their soil is too acid or too sweet. Mums are not very particular about this, but if you use the bonemeal as suggested, it will provide all the lime the plants need in slowly available form.
Pinching Chrysanthemums
Chrysanthemums in the garden are usually grown so that each stem has many stalks. This requires pinching, a process that is all-too-often improperly practiced, or not at all, by the home gardener.
When plants reach six inches, pinch the lop 2” inches of new growth between your thumb and forefinger at a point just above a leaf.
Stimulation for Growth
The purpose of this is to stimulate new shoots to grow out of the first several leaf nodes below.
When the new shoots become 6” inches long, pinch again, and continue the process until mid or late July for most kinds. Pinch summer-flowering kinds until mid-June or the first of July.
If you want to grow large flowers, it is best to raise your plants in an out-of-sight spot or the cutting garden, because the plants are not attractive.
For this purpose, grow each plant with a single or 2 or possibly 3 stalks. Encourage them to grow tall, and remove all side shoots as soon as they appear.
Disbudding of Plants
When buds start to form, eliminate all except the topmost and keep removing others as they appear. This process is called disbudding.
Recently, early flowering, hardier forms of the large exhibition-type mums seen at football games have been developed for the home gardener.
These are perhaps best suited to disbudding, although any of the larger-flowered hardy mums will produce unbelievably large blooms if the entire energy of the plant is directed to a few. Use stakes to prevent wind from whipping and breaking the stems and blooms.
Common Diseases for New Plantings
New plantings should have few if any, diseases or pests. Common diseases are leaf spots, mildew, and rust, all less apt to appear if preventive measures are used, such as good air circulation and full sunshine.
If you spray your roses with a combination mixture of ferbam or captain, go over your mums at the same time.
Recognizing Nematodes
Nematodes or eelworms are more troublesome. Too small to be seen by the naked eye, they cause black or brown V-shaped patches, which first appear on the lower leaves and then work their way up.
They are called eelworms because of their shape, as well as the curious fact that they emerge from the leaves, within which they live for days when the foliage is wet from rain or sprinkling, and swim upward along the stems, in unbelievably thin films of water, to inspect the leaves above.
For the home gardener, the best control is to grow new plants from cuttings each spring before the nematodes begin to destroy the mother plants. These new plants can then be set where infected plants were not previously grown.
Chlordane will also kill these insects when they are on the outside. As with diseases, the same all-purpose spray for roses will keep most insects in check. When aphids appear, add nicotine sulfate to the spray mixture.
44659 by John S. Gallagher