Most everyone agrees that it’s a good thing to have a hobby to take one’s mind off other things. In my case, however, it’s different. I often need something else to take my mind off my hobby which is growing big football and spider chrysanthemums.
Many home gardeners have been growing big chrysanthemums in their gardens for many years. The principal reason that more of them haven’t attempted it is because they have been led to believe that it is more difficult than growing the regular, better-known garden types. Nothing could be further from the truth! In this article I will tell you the easy way to do it, so that you, too, can enjoy this fascinating and exciting garden hobby without mastering a lot of mystifying horticultural language and methods.
To do it successfully, the first thing you must know is which varieties will produce the big flowers and bloom early enough to beat frosts that usually visit gardens in late October or early November. No amount of gardening skill will make up for the lack of proper selection of varieties. By the same token, however, no amount of proper selection will make up for a lack of knowledge of the few gardening fundamentals necessary to produce the results you want. These two things go hand-in-hand just as they do in growing other garden aristocrats such as roses, iris, dahlias and others.
Here is how a New Jersey couple grows Big and Showy chrysanthemums
Planting of large chrysanthemums is the same as for regular garden types. Some growers prefer potting the plants when received from the grower, but the easiest way is to plant directly in the garden, providing the weather is suitable. This is any time after May 20 in the Chicago area, or slightly later farther north. You can plant them among other perennials or in beds by themselves, which is better. In the latter case space them about 18 inches apart, which will allow ample air circulation and room for the plants to branch out. Beds three or four rows deep are best for easy care and good display.
Planting completed, the next item on the agenda is to familiarize yourself with important phases of culture which are needed to produce the big flowers that will thrill you as well as your neighbors and friends. First of all bear in mind that you must concentrate the strength of the plant on fewer branches and fewer flowers than are customarily grown on the usual garden types of chrysanthemums. This is brought about by removing some of the side branches as well as some of the flower buds that will form later on. These practices are commonly referred to as disbranching and disbudding. They actually have a two-fold purpose: they not only make larger flowers possible but they also bring about earlier flowers… flowers that will bloom well ahead of the early frosts in the Midwest.
Pinching
Another important cultural variation from the usual method of growing garden chrysanthemums is the pinching method to be employed. Pinching is a term applied to the pinching or breaking off of the top half-inch of the new plant with the thumb and forefinger. With the small garden types, several pinches are made at different times, but with the large flowering type the best and simplest method is to make only one pinch. So pinch out, or break off, the top half-inch of the growing plant when it is about 8 or 10 inches tall.
This pinching process will cause several side branches to form on your plant, and these are the branches that will bear your flowers. Allow only three of these branches to remain on the plant, and if more than that number appear, remove them immediately. This is called disbranching. Exhibitors allow only one branch or stem to a plant, thereby getting still bigger flowers. But for general garden beauty, three or four branches are best. During the summer and early fall, more branches will continue to appear and they must be removed.
Disbudding
Toward the end of August or early in September, buds will begin to form at the tips of the branches, and it is then imperative that you allow only one bud to develop at the tip of each branch, removing all others that form. This is called disbudding.
Two different types of bud formation takes place, depending upon the variety and time of pinching. One type will be a cluster of buds. When these buds get to be the size of a small pea, remove all but one bud in each cluster, leaving the largest and best-formed which is called a terminal bud. The other type of bud formation will be a single bud with leaf shoots around it. When these leaf shoots get a little larger, break them off, leaving the single bud to develop and bloom. This is called a crown bud.
Either a crown or a terminal bud will produce a good flower for you. Occasionally the crown bud may be slightly deformed or lopsided, which would cause it to produce an imperfect flower. In this case remove it and allow one of the leaf shoots to develop instead. This will produce a cluster of terminal buds from which you can select the best one for your flower, removing the others. This procedure results in a slightly later flower.
The best flowers are naturally produced on strong- growing and healthy plants. Following are several suggestions which will help to keep your plants in a rapidly growing and healthy condition so that you, too, can; enjoy big chrysanthemums this summer.
- Plant in a sunny, well·drained location where there will be at least a half-day of sunshine. Don’t plant too close to trees or shrubbery with competing underground roots. They will rob the chrysanthemums of needed moisture and food.
- Add leafmold, peatmoss, compost or cow manure to the soil when planting. A small amount of bonemeal or other fertilizer, well mixed into the soil around each plant, will also aid growth.
- After plants are well started in growth, mulch the surface of the soil around each plant with any good mulching material such as sawdust or peatmoss. This will help to hold the moisture in the soil, and it also prevents weed growth. It is also an excellent preventive against fungus diseases splashing from the soil up onto the lower leaves of the plants.
- In a dry season water at the base of the plants with a soil soaker or garden hose with the spray nozzle removed. Avoid wetting the foliage as much as possible as this tends to increase foliage diseases.
- Spray the plants occasionally, making sure to reach the undersides of the leaves. A spray which is designed to kill both chewing and sucking insects is preferable as chrysanthemums are attacked by both. A fungicide should also be used to keep foliage healthy. There are a number of them on the market.
- When buds begin to form in late August or early September, pour around the base of each plant a weak liquid fertilizer, every seven to ten days. This will develop larger flowers and give them a better color. Use any well balanced fertilizer which is completely soluble in water, pouring about a pint of the solution around each plant at each application. There are several brands on the market for this purpose. Be sure to follow the printed instructions on the package when mixing, as too strong a solution would cause malformed and soft flowers. Be sure the soil is not dry when you use it, as this would burn the roots. Discontinue this fertilizing when buds start to show color.
Staking
It is quite important to stake large chrysanthemums as their 6 to 8 inch flowers are very heavy, especially when wet with rain, and may cause the plant to topple over. Use steel or bamboo stakes, fastening the branches with soft tying material or Twistems. Another good method is to stretch strings or wires in both directions between the rows of plants, fastening the branches to the strings with cord.
The importance of disbranching and disbudding, as outlined above, cannot be too strongly emphasized. Allowing too many branches to grow and too many buds to develop, will only result in small and poorly-formed flowers, and, in addition, your flowers will be too late. So be sure to pay attention to this most important phase of culture; when growing these large flowering chrysanthemums. You will be repaid many times over for your effort.
