CHRYSANTHEMUM CULTURE.

Shannon News, 31 August 1923, Page 3

CHRYSANTHEMUM CULTURE.

. Plants • for producing show blooms require as long a period of growth as it is possible for them to get -and they should be taken as early in the season as the formation ol cuttings will allow. Cuttings taken any time this month are good -enough lor the purpose provided they are rooted well; a poorly rooted cutting is of very little use for any purpose. For general garden purposes cuttings can be taken next month. It is better to have sturdy short growers lor this purpose than the very tall ones that are so often seen. In fact it is -our aim to grow the plants as dwarly as possible ■ for all purposes.. The English growers pot up their plants, as. soon -as they are rooted into small pots and then- when the halt of earth is well filled with roots they move the plant to a larger sized pot; in this way the growth is well hardened off before each re-potting. It is important to have the soil the cuttings are put into for striking’nicely mixed with sand and pressed down around the cuttings as firmly as possible. Soft potting and loose soil form rank soft shoots which is a thing that must he avoided as much as possible. "Press the soil down, as finn-ly a-s possible around the cuttings and then when they are rooted -and are being* potteu up have a small stake handy to ram the earth into the pots with. All these details may seem superfluous t-o- a novice, but it is important if the best plants for the purpose are to -be got. When potting name each plant as it is put into the pot; this i-s another important thing '.because it does, not do- to trust to one’s memory when potting a lot of plants. The old variety, Mme. Carnot, was well shown at one -or two shows last season and the grower when asked how he got them so good said that he had potted them on from the smallest sized pots and when he reached the six inch size the balls of roots were quite hard. They were then planted out in the open ground and the soil was well rammed round them. No manure was given until the buds had set and then they were manured regularly every second day or so with any liquid manxxre that came handy. It is the same with many of the other varieties and as long as they are well potted it is not necessary to give any manure until the plants have set their buds. At the same time it is always better to use a fresh piece of ground for the plants every year and if possible- to have a mixture of turf well chopped up to plant them in. If the ground has not been limed give it a dressing -at once. These remarks apply quite as much to garden plants as to those that are being grown for show purposes.—Standard.