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Planting Chrysanthemum Seeds

Chrysanthemum is a genus which has contribseveral species to the flower garden. Tinclude C. coccineum, pyrethrum or paindaisy; C. frutescens, marguerite; C. x superb.Shasta daisy; and C. Parthenium, feverfewmatricaria. The one considered here trgifolium, the hardy chrysanthemum.Hardy chrysanthemums are among thepopular and important garden flowersoust of the long, colorful show they put onE-± summer and fall. By choosing carefullythe hundreds of varieties, the gardenerlave mums blooming from mid-August to-.7 frost. They can be grown in containersand watered carefully. The dwarf cash-=es can be dug with a generous earthwhen in bud or flower and moved to a dull corner of the garden. Few have such a variety of color and form,are excellent for cutting.

Hardy chrysanthemums require a greatmaintenance to keep them in top form.aers who have little time to work with?wers should avoid having large plant-_f them. While they can be propagatedr cuttings and seed, most gardeners will- division is the easiest method. Indeed,(or at most, biennial) division in spring-nary to keep them flowering well. When.-:ng the clump, you will notice many pale usually with a tuft of small leaves at spreading out among the darker rootsbase of the plant. Each one of these can grow into a large flowering plant by cut off as many as you will need and the rest of the old clump. If you shouldlc start with larger divisions, use a sharpand cut pieces with several new crowns'-am around the outside of the old clump- _.t the worn-out center in the compostla Small divisions or stolons make the best and they should be set out in full sun-ich in compost or rotted manure, whichsupplemented with bone meal or sludge.are heavy feeders and will benefit fromressings of compost during the growingon. They must be watered carefully at all stages of growth: Drying of the soil in the heatof summer will stunt growth and diminishflowering.

When the young plants have grown six oreight inches tall, pinch out the tip of eachstem to induce side-branching. Pinch againafter each six inches of growth until mid-July,after which the plants should be left alone sothey form flower buds. This early pinchinginduces heavier flowering and helps to keep tallvarieties more compact. The cushion mums,which mature at 12 inches or less, are self-branching and should not be pinched. Somevarieties, such as the football and spider mumswhich develop very large flowers, should bedisbudded to make them look really spectacu-lar. All secondary flower buds are removed,allowing each stem only one bud at the topwhich opens into a flower that can be five toeight inches across. Such varieties usuallybloom too late to mature before frost and theflowers can't take heavy rains, so they are bestleft to florists and greenhouses. While some-times advertised as being suitable for the opengarden, they are really not.

Almost everyone knows of or owns chry-santhemum plants which seem to survive andbloom year after year with little or no winterprotection. Even so, the term "hardy chry-santhemum" can be misleading because toooften a newly bought variety which was plantedin spring and bloomed in fall dies in the winter.This is often caused by poor drainage; whilemums require abundant moisture during thegrowing season, their soil must never be soggyin winter. Try not to plant them in heavy claysif you wish to winter them in the garden. Toprevent alternate freezing and thawing, coverthe plants with an airy mulch such as straw,evergreen boughs or an inverted basket inwinter. To be sure that choice varieties survive, dig them with earth balls after frost has killedthe tops and store them under light mulch in acold frame for the winter. In spring, plantseveral of the stolons and compost the oldplants. Treated this way, any hardy mum willgrow and bloom well each season.

There are several recognized flower typesof hardy chrysanthemums of which the button,pompon, decorative, and single-flowered typesare most suitable for the open border. Thereare many named varieties to choose from ineach class, so check the catalogs for thosewhich appeal to you most. The cushion ordwarf types might be the best for busy gardenersbecause they do not need pinching.

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