A year in growing chrysanthemums
All information on this website is in laymans terms for ease of use
Where does the year start ? and where does it end ? Well, I don’t know if I’m to be honest, because its all fun and enjoyment to me,
So as we are all about to do it? Lets start with planting out…..
These notes are for the newer growers, as the more experienced grower’s out there will know what to do….
The first thing is to make sure the plants we are about to plant out are the best from our count that we’ve allotted for the said bed, Most grower’s apply their preferred fertiliser that is applicable to their ground , I would only do one bed at a time, then if it rains or we are called away, the fertiliser is not sitting idly or being washed away,
Then I will three prong it in, then rake my soil level,
The next step is to measuring out the bed, I will insert cane’s at 18 inch intervals .
Next we get a 5 gallon bucket, this is for our planting solution,
1 table spoon of jeyes fluid
1oz of Mono Ammonium phosphate
1oz of vitax 301.
The jeyes is put into the empty 5 gallon bucket,
Then 3 gallon of water, slopped in well to mix the jeyes, (stir well if you prefer) then mix the mono and the 301 in warm water (to dissolve the mono) then put it in the bucket with the jeyes and mix well again. Add the last 2 gallons of water. This HAS to be done in the right way as the jeyes and the mono have a chemical reaction in their neat form, causing the chemicals to separate from the water, when the mixture is complete,
Take a dock leaf or piece of kitchen roll and drag the jeyes oil residue from the top of the water,
Right , lets start the fun stuff….
Depending on what size pots your planting out from, place 2.….3.…or 4 pots in the solution ….. You MUST leave them in your bucket until ALL the air bubbles have stopped.
Now enjoy your planting out, knowing your plants have been, fed, watered and immunized against soil pests,at least for a few weeks... 26/4/09
TIPS
When planting out have a spare bucket with water and strong bleach in, then as you’ve planted you’re plant out, wash the pot straight away… Ok ….. I know it takes a second or two…. But it save’s that mountain of pots at the end of planting out.
When planting out have a spare bucket with water and strong bleach in, then as you’ve planted you’re plant out, wash the pot straight away… Ok ….. I know it takes a second or two…. But it save’s that mountain of pots at the end of planting out.
I don’t know about you guys out there but I did enjoy the planting out, but me poor little backs in two, so am glad it’s all done.
If your sad like me, you will all have been cooing and arring at your roots, so the transition into soil should not be to harsh. They are all looking well and healthy.
Our aim now is to keep them that way,
Next job on the list….caning … as we know each plant has two cane’s, We only ring one lateral because they are to small yet to ring both, definitely not worth risking a lateral trying to pull it to a cane, well ? Unless we want one up’s.
Admire….(kills aphids) should have been applied a week prior to planting out, to allow you to use bumper or your preferred fungicide,( you CANNOT use two systemic’s within 14 days of each other )
Bumper - a systemic fungicide is sprayed on to the plants at a dilution rate of 2 and a half mill per gallon, hopefully to prevent any white rust ( or fungicide of your choosing ).
That done, we go round with derris dust ( the derris is to kill moths, capsids, froghoppers ) on every growing tip, the best time to do this is after a little rain, as the derris sticks to the tip better, and we have to reapply after every rain to keep the growing tips free of insect life.
Well I don’t know about you …. I want a rest?
That didn’t last long, did it? Well we’re on to side shooting, I must admit it’s a job I do enjoy doing, mainly because you can see the results as soon as you’ve done the job, it is a discipline that has to be done very carefully, ( the roots are the working part of our plant underground, and the leaves are the same but above ground) so we must be very careful not to break any of when side shooting.
Leaves have a direct effect on your lateral, so subsequently has a direct effect on the size of you flower….. So look after them well… we need them if we want good size blooms. While side shooting, because you’re right in the plants face,, it is easy to look for insects and fungal diseases,, so that’s… THREE… jobs done in one go, if you see any inferior plants or diseased one’s pull them out, they will not catch up, and if they are infected you run a very high chance of them infecting the rest of your stock…… more to follow…..We hope you, as the readers, are finding the information we are giving you, is of help…
14/05/09
If your sad like me, you will all have been cooing and arring at your roots, so the transition into soil should not be to harsh. They are all looking well and healthy.
Our aim now is to keep them that way,
Next job on the list….caning … as we know each plant has two cane’s, We only ring one lateral because they are to small yet to ring both, definitely not worth risking a lateral trying to pull it to a cane, well ? Unless we want one up’s.
Admire….(kills aphids) should have been applied a week prior to planting out, to allow you to use bumper or your preferred fungicide,( you CANNOT use two systemic’s within 14 days of each other )
Bumper - a systemic fungicide is sprayed on to the plants at a dilution rate of 2 and a half mill per gallon, hopefully to prevent any white rust ( or fungicide of your choosing ).
That done, we go round with derris dust ( the derris is to kill moths, capsids, froghoppers ) on every growing tip, the best time to do this is after a little rain, as the derris sticks to the tip better, and we have to reapply after every rain to keep the growing tips free of insect life.
Well I don’t know about you …. I want a rest?
That didn’t last long, did it? Well we’re on to side shooting, I must admit it’s a job I do enjoy doing, mainly because you can see the results as soon as you’ve done the job, it is a discipline that has to be done very carefully, ( the roots are the working part of our plant underground, and the leaves are the same but above ground) so we must be very careful not to break any of when side shooting.
Leaves have a direct effect on your lateral, so subsequently has a direct effect on the size of you flower….. So look after them well… we need them if we want good size blooms. While side shooting, because you’re right in the plants face,, it is easy to look for insects and fungal diseases,, so that’s… THREE… jobs done in one go, if you see any inferior plants or diseased one’s pull them out, they will not catch up, and if they are infected you run a very high chance of them infecting the rest of your stock…… more to follow…..We hope you, as the readers, are finding the information we are giving you, is of help…
14/05/09
Well people we’re back to the grindstone again ….. Side shooting, buds appearing, and the bud bugs are also making an appearance, the little so and so’s. We will deal with those a little later.
INCURVES
Now some varieties of incurves produce much higher quality blooms if the side shoots and secondary buds are left on untill calyx split, I know … it’s a bit daunting if you’ve never grown them this way, but if your incurves are not as good as you’d like ? It’s up to you if you want to try growing them in a different way; this is again down to your location and growing techniques.
INTERMEDIATES
Intermediates need side shooting as they come up to aprox 1 inch long, buds taken when they appear.
REFLEX
Reflexes are a complex collection of individuals….. And side shooting depends on a lot of small yet very important issues…. Per variety, it would take complete page on each and every one, Using Wingfield as an example would be totally misleading as they are easy to manipulate into producing show stopping blooms, they can be side shooted as they come, and buds can be taken with ease. Now the likes of Venice, their buds have to be taken as soon as you can safely do so, or they will abort.
Right …. Now comes the hard bit for you out there… Iv spoken about the roots being the plants engine? Well our aim, even after taking the bud is to keep our engine growing, the better the engine, the better lateral weight, hence the bigger the bloom.
To do this we leave side shoots on, on certain varieties longer, which encourages more, and stronger root growth, it is a balancing act admitted,…. but if you get it right…… you can obtain show stopping blooms. Remember your plants must be in the right condition at all times to do this successfully.
Mid June to early July should prompt most growers in to action with a supplementary feed of their choice, but only to be used if, yet again the plants are in the right condition 07/06/09
All bug info on trouble shooting page
INCURVES
Now some varieties of incurves produce much higher quality blooms if the side shoots and secondary buds are left on untill calyx split, I know … it’s a bit daunting if you’ve never grown them this way, but if your incurves are not as good as you’d like ? It’s up to you if you want to try growing them in a different way; this is again down to your location and growing techniques.
INTERMEDIATES
Intermediates need side shooting as they come up to aprox 1 inch long, buds taken when they appear.
REFLEX
Reflexes are a complex collection of individuals….. And side shooting depends on a lot of small yet very important issues…. Per variety, it would take complete page on each and every one, Using Wingfield as an example would be totally misleading as they are easy to manipulate into producing show stopping blooms, they can be side shooted as they come, and buds can be taken with ease. Now the likes of Venice, their buds have to be taken as soon as you can safely do so, or they will abort.
Right …. Now comes the hard bit for you out there… Iv spoken about the roots being the plants engine? Well our aim, even after taking the bud is to keep our engine growing, the better the engine, the better lateral weight, hence the bigger the bloom.
To do this we leave side shoots on, on certain varieties longer, which encourages more, and stronger root growth, it is a balancing act admitted,…. but if you get it right…… you can obtain show stopping blooms. Remember your plants must be in the right condition at all times to do this successfully.
Mid June to early July should prompt most growers in to action with a supplementary feed of their choice, but only to be used if, yet again the plants are in the right condition 07/06/09
All bug info on trouble shooting page
Well its July already … That’s gone fast?
All the work for the next two month’s, is for me, and I would imagine you, the fun part of the year.
With most variety’s done for supplementary feeding (well apart from those that need a foliage feed of magnesium, a foliage feed rather than a soil drench, as magnesium locks up some of the major elements our plants need.).
Who love’s taking buds? I do….One of the first thing’s to be careful of, when taking your bud is not to tear the neck , as this can tilt the bud, hence a tilted bloom. When the time is right for your area to take them, take the first three to four secondary bud’s, it’s that easy. And it’s a good idea to leave two sideshoots on after you have taken your bud, as they act as a good overflow system, in case of over watering, as it helps your plant to filter excess sap away from your bud to stop it blowing off.
Next job… at calyx split, our buds are dusted with derris dust, to kill or deter bugs.
At bagging stage we remove any unwanted bracts, spray with your chosen insecticide, and buds are bagged whilst still soaking wet,
If it is nico-soap, any insect that has escaped the spraying will be gassed, as once your bag goes on, and the air in it warms up, the nico-soap starts to evaporate in to a gas, so any beasties still alive in the bag will be gassed.
On to twist-its, if you’ve not tried this one? Try just wrapping the twist-it tightly round the neck of your bud bag instead of tying it, it much easier to untie when changing to big bags, and the tie can be easily used again.
On starting to change to big bags, if you come across a bloom that still has aphids in there… then they have titanium suits on…. And scoober equipment …. So take a sledge hammer to them.. ONLY KIDDING, compost wetting agent (soft soap) is about the only thing that might save your bloom now, as this essentially suffocates the aphid, but to do this the bloom must be re bagged, you have nothing to loose by trying this, as you should not exhibit a bloom full of fly. A very good tip to pass on concerning bagging incurves’ and intermediates, is to pull the base of the big bag and sit it on the top leaves, making the top of the bag sit on the top of your bloom, thus allowing the older florets to fall back to the stem, So giving you a spherical shaped bloom, don’t worry the bag, (unless knocked or messed with by unwelcome prying fingers) will not damage your bloom.
All the work for the next two month’s, is for me, and I would imagine you, the fun part of the year.
With most variety’s done for supplementary feeding (well apart from those that need a foliage feed of magnesium, a foliage feed rather than a soil drench, as magnesium locks up some of the major elements our plants need.).
Who love’s taking buds? I do….One of the first thing’s to be careful of, when taking your bud is not to tear the neck , as this can tilt the bud, hence a tilted bloom. When the time is right for your area to take them, take the first three to four secondary bud’s, it’s that easy. And it’s a good idea to leave two sideshoots on after you have taken your bud, as they act as a good overflow system, in case of over watering, as it helps your plant to filter excess sap away from your bud to stop it blowing off.
Next job… at calyx split, our buds are dusted with derris dust, to kill or deter bugs.
At bagging stage we remove any unwanted bracts, spray with your chosen insecticide, and buds are bagged whilst still soaking wet,
If it is nico-soap, any insect that has escaped the spraying will be gassed, as once your bag goes on, and the air in it warms up, the nico-soap starts to evaporate in to a gas, so any beasties still alive in the bag will be gassed.
On to twist-its, if you’ve not tried this one? Try just wrapping the twist-it tightly round the neck of your bud bag instead of tying it, it much easier to untie when changing to big bags, and the tie can be easily used again.
On starting to change to big bags, if you come across a bloom that still has aphids in there… then they have titanium suits on…. And scoober equipment …. So take a sledge hammer to them.. ONLY KIDDING, compost wetting agent (soft soap) is about the only thing that might save your bloom now, as this essentially suffocates the aphid, but to do this the bloom must be re bagged, you have nothing to loose by trying this, as you should not exhibit a bloom full of fly. A very good tip to pass on concerning bagging incurves’ and intermediates, is to pull the base of the big bag and sit it on the top leaves, making the top of the bag sit on the top of your bloom, thus allowing the older florets to fall back to the stem, So giving you a spherical shaped bloom, don’t worry the bag, (unless knocked or messed with by unwelcome prying fingers) will not damage your bloom.
A very good tip to pass on concerning bagging incurves’ and intermediates, is to pull the base of the big bag and sit it on the top leaves, making the top of the bag sit on the top of your bloom, thus allowing the older florets to fall back to the stem,
So giving you a spherical shaped bloom, don’t worry the bag, (unless knocked or messed with by unwelcome prying fingers) will not damage your bloom. Reflex… bud bag off, small blob of deris in the very centre of the bloom, job done, well apart from keeping our eye’s pealed looking for earwigs andspidermite. Now watering… we must, after taking our buds make sure, that at ALL times the soil or mix that the plants are growing in, is always fully charged with the said H2O, right up until we cut the bloom. This will stop….uneven floret lay… and what we call a ring of confidence? Why it’s called that I don’t know??? Its definitely not confidence to me, it’s more like a nightmare, to those of you out there that have not heard of it, it is a ring all the way round the bloom of rotting florets. Now we can have some kind of a breather, well a little one any way, because its nearly …….
Show time… don’t forget before you cut blooms you are very pleased with, mark up the stools as they will make you’re baby’s for next year. On a personal note, I will not wish any one person good luck, but because of all the hard work we’ve all put in, I just hope the best blooms win, because blooms is what, for me, growing Chrysanthemums is all about, not who we are, not what we are, not who we know,
Regards Julie. 7/7/09
So giving you a spherical shaped bloom, don’t worry the bag, (unless knocked or messed with by unwelcome prying fingers) will not damage your bloom. Reflex… bud bag off, small blob of deris in the very centre of the bloom, job done, well apart from keeping our eye’s pealed looking for earwigs andspidermite. Now watering… we must, after taking our buds make sure, that at ALL times the soil or mix that the plants are growing in, is always fully charged with the said H2O, right up until we cut the bloom. This will stop….uneven floret lay… and what we call a ring of confidence? Why it’s called that I don’t know??? Its definitely not confidence to me, it’s more like a nightmare, to those of you out there that have not heard of it, it is a ring all the way round the bloom of rotting florets. Now we can have some kind of a breather, well a little one any way, because its nearly …….
Show time… don’t forget before you cut blooms you are very pleased with, mark up the stools as they will make you’re baby’s for next year. On a personal note, I will not wish any one person good luck, but because of all the hard work we’ve all put in, I just hope the best blooms win, because blooms is what, for me, growing Chrysanthemums is all about, not who we are, not what we are, not who we know,
Regards Julie. 7/7/09
Well as promised….
The next part of our ever busy year as arrived.
Your selected stools are now ready to be lifted, this must be done with extreme care, as the loss of any basal growth will seriously reduce your chance of new cuttings, gently tap off as much soil as you can
After doing this, with a very sharp pair of scissors trim the roots to about 1cm in length, and any basal growth to aprox 2cm, place in a tray for easy transporting to your work area.
Before you begin to wash the stools, have two big buckets of clean water with a good blob of bleach in each, one is what I call the dirty bucket and the second is the clean one, first wash the stool off in bucket one, this will get the biggest part of the soil off, then plunge your cleaner stool into the second bucket and leave there until you have cleaned all your batch of said stools of the chosen variety, then place the clean stools into a sterilized seed tray to dry off in a clean (sterilized) greenhouse, this will harden basal growth allowing the stool to be heat treated.
Right boy’s …. To Hot water treatment…. To do this job successfully you need four things‘…… a very good jam thermometer ….. A partner you trust implicitly …..A good clock…. And NO disturbances …. It is an interesting job… but one that MUST be done with great care and precision, I can not emphasise that point enough….
The first thing you will need is a big pan…. P.S don’t pinch you’re miss’s stew pan, or you’re be in trouble…..
A jam thermometer…
Bleach and a good clock….
Ice block’s… clean (preferably sterilized) seed tray’s…
First … boil a small amount of clean water in the pan, when its boiled swill the hot water carefully round the pan and throw away, then fill the pan up to about.. 2” from the top of the pan, add a good glob of bleach…. Do not heat up to quickly…. As you may waste time waiting for the water to cool down…. Insert your jam thermometer and when the temperature is on 46” place your first batch of stools in the water, you MUST at all time’s keep your eye on the temperature, and the clock….. Five minutes … that’s how long you leave them in the hot water for, then take them out and put them in a bucket of cold water, with the ice blocks in,….. Five minutes in hot water…. five in the cold…. It is the two contrasts in temperature that kill’s any insects living in your stool, and any fungi in the leaf nodes.
The deep Red’s and Purple colour’s do not take to hot water treating as easily as the paler colour’s so you will need to remember to put a few extra stool’s of those deeper colour’s in, just to be on the safe side, do not think by dropping the time, or temperature, you will have more success ! You may as well not bother hot water treating at all, it is not effective if not done at the correct temperatures and the right time frame. It is not a good idea to use a large vessel when hot water treating, as it is unreliable trying obtain the optimum temperature and keep to 46”, plus we can be tempted to put more stools in than we would do in a pan, remember hot water treatment WILL NOT kill viruses. If you suspect any of your stools could have a virus, it is advisable to burn them. It is also a good idea only one variety at a time… i.e. all your wingfields…… then start your chempaks with fresh water,
Place your treated stools in sterilised trays to dry off for a few days.
If frost is forecast just cover with news paper.
Well…… that’s the hard bit done, next step is boxing up, first soak your newly cleaned babies in your chosen fungicide, box up soaking wet with fungicide into damp compost.
Place them into a cold, dry, airy light frame or greenhouse, for at least a fortnight, until its time to put them on heat.
Keeping your stools cold is called (now this is about the only big fancy word on this website) vernalisation period, in lay mans talk its our stools time to rest, or hibernate, and encourages the new growth we all strive for. 23/10/09
Well…… that’s the hard bit done, next step is boxing up, first soak your newly cleaned babies in your chosen fungicide, box up soaking wet with fungicide into damp compost.
Place them into a cold, dry, airy light frame or greenhouse, for at least a fortnight, until its time to put them on heat.
Keeping your stools cold is called (now this is about the only big fancy word on this website) vernalisation period, in lay mans talk its our stools time to rest, or hibernate, and encourages the new growth we all strive for. 23/10/09