Growing A Football Sized Mums
Would you like to grow football size mums in your garden? Mums that will bring visitors from miles around with Oh" and Ah" and "I dont see how you do it" expressions? Then follow these methods and have that pleasure and satisfaction.
Mums love the sun even though a 100 degree temperature may make them wilt in the middle of the day. Choose a location where they will receive sun at least half the day. They should be protected from strong winds. Most growers find that mums need protection from the first freeze and the hard rains which sometimes injure the blossoms - I've grow mums both with and without protection. It is wise, therefore, to plan a frame for covering before planting.
If you don't want to go to so much trouble, choose the south or east side of a building, an evergreen hedge, or a man-made windbreak. You then trust to luck that the first freeze does not come early and ruin all the fine blooms. I have two beds. One is covered with unbleached muslin: the other is on the south side of the house and is not covered. Should you become nervous that a freeze is coming before the blossoms are fully open, you can cut the half open blooms, store in a cool place in deep water and the blooms will open beautifully.
Enriching the Soil
Any soil that grows good vegetables will grow mums. But the richer the soil the finer the mums, because they are very heavy feeders. Soil must have good drainage, fertility and plenty of humus. Remember that sandy soil takes more water because water runs through faster. Clay soil packs, thus the drainage is poor. The answer is to use peat moss, well rotted barn-yard manure or the compost you make in your own back yard or a mixture of all three.
A smart thing to do is to prepare the soil as soon as possible after harvesting the current crop. One grower puts a three or four inch layer of barnyard fertilizer on her plot, lets it lie all winter and forks in as soon as spring opens up. Another makes the top five inches about one fourth peat moss. I use a combination of manure, peat and compost from my own back yard. Peat contains nitrogen, holds moisture, and promotes root growth. Many growers rough-spade the plot and let it lie over winter to freeze. In early spring they re-spade and plant a legume, such as garden peas, that will be harvested by mum planting time. This puts the plot to good use and builds the soil at the same time. Something nearly always happens and I don't get the legume planted. So I sprinkle about four pounds of super phosphate to each one hundred square feet over the top of the plot, then spade to the depth of the fork.
In choosing varieties it is well to consult growers in your general area to find out what varieties do best for them. Lacking that source of information choose varieties that will flower before the first freeze, if possible. I choose October or early November flowering varieties. Here in central Oklahoma our first freeze usually comes the first week in November. Most of us have some sort of protection since these varieties often don't flower until after the first freeze. The hot weather that so often comes in September prevents the plants from setting buds when they normally should set. Likewise, September flowering varieties rarely ever flower before the last of October.
Some growers take plants by root division, that is by lifting the whole plant and dividing the root growth each spring. One grower uses a butcher knife to cut the roots between each little plant early in the spring. Left undisturbed for two or three weeks these divisions are well rooted and can be moved anywhere. I prefer cuttings because they are less likely to be diseased. Cuttings start off quicker.
To start cuttings take four or five inches from the tips of the fastest growing plants. These are not hardened, thus are more likely to grow. At my work table, I take a very sharp knife and cut straight across the stem one-fourth inch below a leaf and 2-1/2 to three inches from the top of the cutting. The two lower leaves are removed, but the cutting needs the remainder of the leaves to produce food for root formation.
Many growers use media such as vermiculite, perlite, sphagnum moss, or a mixture of sand and vermiculite to root the cuttings.
When the cuttings are rooted they may be planted in their permanent place or they may be potted up for a few days, until the roots start growing in the soil. Personally, I find plants do better if they are planted in plant bands for a couple of weeks. By this time the bands should be full of roots. Plants are slipped out of the bands, planted in their permanent place, and watered in without suffering any set-back whatsoever. This method is really little trouble.
When each plant is firmed in, I water to settle the soil or buy hyponex potting soil. If more hyponex soil is needed it is then added, after which a light watering is given that contains a starter solution. The flats are set in a lightly shaded place where they are left for the desired time. The plants will need watering two or three times during the period.
Chrysanthemums must be kept growing; although when we have six weeks of drought with temperatures soaring to 105 degrees and cooling only slightly at night, it is difficult to do. The answer is to give the plants plenty of moisture. but dont keep them wet. Mums will wilt badly in the hot sun, but by sundown the foliage will be as fresh and crisp as ever if they are kept well watered and the bed heavily mulched. I use a steel stake for testing purposes. The stake is stuck in the soil about five inches deep in several different places in the bed. If it comes out dry, I water by laying the end of the hose on the bed. The water is permitted to run, (without the nozzle) until the soil is well soaked. Usually irrigating every week or ten days is all that is necessary.
