Evening Star Newspaper, September 6, 1931, Page 48

'l z“‘ - Chrysanthemums for Autumn Loveliness Uncle Sam’s Clzrymntbemums at Arlington Experimental Farm Ablaze With Color in 'all—United States Department of Agriculture Scientists Discover Effect of Light on Mums’ Date of Blooming. g BY DOROTHY PLETCHER HOWERTH. RANKLY, po one knows just how many centuries g0 it happened. But it must have been long before the Romans be- gan agitating the ““good roads” move- ment in Europe that a Chinese found a little yellow weed by the roadside and took it hcme to his garden. He experi- mented with it—and, lo! The chrysanthemun. Even a mere 2,000 years 2g0 potts were ex- hausting their vocabularies in its praize, and artists and porcelain meake:s chose it for their motif. There was a Chinese King—an astonshingly terrific villain—whro lived in the dim, misty days of lcng ago. Of course, he was afraid to di>. When he heard that on an island some miles east of China there grew a rare plant which yielded a juice giving everlasting life, for to the Oriental the chrysanthemum has always been symbolic of long life, he wanted it. And he wanted it more than riches or power! But, unfortunately for this royal gentleman, only good people could touch the chrysanthe- mum plant or it would become useless. So the King sent a wise man and 300 youths and maidens in quest of it. They never returned. No one knows whether they ever found the chrysanthemum, for they established a king- dom on the island and stayed there. And that island we know as Japan. When Japen borrowed her culture from China some thousand years ago she also took that ecuntry’s chrysanthemum to her heart and adopted it as her own national emblem. In- deed, she emblazoned it on the Mikado's sword. And to be a member of the Grand Order of the Chrysanthemum & Japanese must be of high rank. One of the yearly functions of the Japanese court is a chrysanthemum party, held on the ninth day of the ninth month—September. The Emperor and the dignitaries take part in this celebration, which consists of feasting and composing poems to the flower. Undoubtedly it is because of such prominence of the chrys- anthemum in Japanese life and art that in western minds this flower is assoclated with Japan rather than China, its original hy- bridizer. Chrysanthemums reached Europe in 1789, when one Monsieur Blancard, a Marseille mer- chant, brought back threz slips frcm China. Then merchants visiting China begin bringing home new varieties until by 1824 there were 27 different kinds growing at the Horticultural Gardens, Chiswick, England. The following year 700 specimens of thsse 27 varieties had developed to blooming size, and England staged her first mum show. American interest was first whetted about 1881, althcugh the Massachusetts Horticultural Society had exhibited some back in 1830. Just in the last 25 years interest in mums has picked up amazingly, until today chrysanthe- mum show-mania is actually sweeping the world. In Washington, D. C., the United States Department of Agriculture holds a daz- zling mum show every year, and no one would dream of missing this treat. N Uncle Sam's experimental mum garden near Arlingtcn, on the opposite side of the Potomac River from Washington, one may see rows and rows of many-hued blooms every Fall. His mum specialists in the Bureau of Plant Industry have decided that the beauty which the hardy chrysanthemums add to the landscape of the SBcuth during late Fall could be extended to the North if early flowering sorts with sufficicnt hardiness to withstand the rig- orous Winters of the region can be developed. In fact, their work has resulted in the develop- ment of some early bloomers, including a wide range of form and color, which they plan to ‘make available to northern gardeners. They also made the unique discovery that the mum'’s flowering season varies according to daily expcsure to light; that is, the chrysan- themum, in flowering in the Fall, is not await- ing cooler weather, but shorter days. And they can prove it, too. Taking cuttings of a late variety of chrysan- themums, they exposed them to 10 hours of daylight—from 5:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. During the remainder of the day they kept all light excluded by placing the plants in ventilated dark houses. And the plants given this treat- ment have consistently flowered as early as July 15 or in early August, while mums receiv- 4ing the full daylight did not flower until the ‘middie of Octcber. Wouldn't this be a fasci- nating experiment for the amateur gardener who wishes to hasten delayed conditions of flowering? Blooming during September, October and November, & time of year when the majority of flowers are waning or have disappeared en- tirely, the chrysanthemum, with its wide range of hardy perennial varieties, suggests many pos- sibilities. Why not have a mum garden that is appezlingly different? Try. them in borders or beds or in big plantings. . One " could interplant them esrlier: flowers, or move them in to follow the Canterbury bells and foxgloves. Many people grow them during the Summer in an out-of- THE' SUNDAY STAR, WASHINGTON, D. C., SEPTEMBER 6, 1931, the-way place and move them to the loeations where they are to flower when the ground is cle:red of other plants. Fortunately, they may be moved when in full bloom. There isn't ancther flower under the sun that has so many lovely varieties, and what & bewlidering array they ma2ke in the seed cata- logues! Perhaps an intrcduction to the main types will help. We have the Singles, the Anemones, the Pompons, the Hairles, the In- curved and Reflexed and the Japanese. The Single, a dainty, daisylike flower, has bzen greatly improved and is very popular be- cause it is idecl for cut flowers as well as for garden deco'ation. The Anemone type offers little pompon anemones, big anemones and the new Japanese an:cmones. This group, how- ever, isn't very hardy and must be grown in a warm climate or a greenhouse. Varying frcm ilat to spherical are the Pompons, with some attractively fringed at ihe tips. The Halry tribe is fairly hardy, but those gorgeous show flowers of the Orient, the Incurved and Reflexed beau- ties, need a warm climate or a greenhcuse. Both hardy and delicate varieties are found in the Japanese group. Of course you will select colors in your mums that will not jar. A garden that boasts a gra- dation of colors is infinitely more picturesque than one with alternations of contrasting hues. For instance, mass white, yellow and brown, but do avoid contrasting red and yellow. Ycu will find a pleasing range of color, too— from white through lemon yellow to orange, bronze to chestnut red, and from white through flesh and rose to deep amaranth reds and pur- ples. Frequently two eciors are combined in one flower, as in the case of Mrs. Ernest Wi, with its chestnut red and bronsze reverse. For outdoor growing select the early flower- ing varieties, Singles and Pompons, because the late-ficwering ones are frequently ruined by frost. When consulting catalogues, notice the dates of flowering, and for Northern and Mid- Mrs. Arthur M. Hyde, wife of the Secretary of Agriculture, with her guest. Lady Isabella Howard, examining a ment’s annual show in 1929. Sun. Kitty Riches is a distinetive early pink, and Mrs. W. E. Buckingham, a midseason pink, proves psrticularly good for cutting. And for red, what could surpass Besse La Roche? The Pompons have two different forms—the aster-flowered and buitcnlike; both are extraor- dinarily popular. White Doty, Snowbank and Snowbird are ell dependzbile whites. Por bright yellow there are Nuggets and Golden Climax. Miss Helen Taft is an excellent weather-resist- ant pink. There being always a heavy demand for bronze, the reddish-bronze button Pompcn, In this experiment performed by members of the Bureau of Plant Industry, United States Depart ment of Agriculture, the branches of an individual plant exposed to the full length of day, flowered October 18. The branch of the same plant given only 10 hours of daylight daily, beginning May 21, by means of a lightproof case, flowered July 15. dle States choose those that mature by or be- fore Octcber 15. . Some 06f the early-flowering types now being offered are Normandie, a creamy white, & very early bloomer; Cranfordia, a deep bronzy yel- low; A. Barham, a lovely orange bronze, and Pirelight, & brillant carmine tinged with scarlet. ROM the impressive collection of Singles there stand out two excellent whites—Lily Neville, notedly very hardy, and Molly Hunt, with flat petals. Then there are Ruth E. Adams, a stunning brenzy eold gold; the orange-yellow Alice Howell, and that delightful yellow, Golden Hilda Canning, ought not to be omitted, neither should the flame-scarlet Annz L. Moran and Red Doty, a wine red. When cutting the mums, try to do it either huge chrysanthemum at the Agriculture Depart- Spring and by buying young plants from the nurseryman in May. Most people, however, start their chrysanthe- mums from nursery plants. In late Spring, when the yeung pilanis arrive from the nurs- ery and there is no danger of a visit from Jack Prost, set them out on a moist, cloudy day; a dry wind and hot sun, you know, will do them no good. Give them a position that is well drained and in full sun, in a light, rich soil with which plenty of manure has been mixed. Chrysanthemums simply must have plenty of fertilizer and water. The best location is in ground that slopes toward the south. Because heavy frosts h:il frem the north and west, it is very necessary to protect the plants from the north and west winds. The need for drainage cannot be too groatly stressed. If mums are placed in low ground where the water collects in Winter, its freezing and thawing will rot the plants. When the young plants have developed new Jeaves, pinch off both the tips and the n:w shoots so that the plant will branch out and have a bushy growth. Many branches, each with a new growing tip, will appear. Unless one resorts to the pinching trick he will have a stringy plant. But no pinching after the middle of July! Prom then on administ:r al- ternately liquid manure, solutions of nitrate of soda and sulphate ¢f ammonia, and hoe the surface thoroughly to make sure of a thick mulch. Of course, the soil should be watered before applying the f:rtilizers. In July begin to stake the tall, upright vari- eties like Lillian Doty; early Summer staking will tzke care of the erect growth cf the young shoots. BOUT the middie of August the mum’s first bud, known as the “crown bud,” appears. If, in raising large varieties, we wish to have one big bloom to each plant—like those encr- mous beauties worn at foot ball games—this is the time to send all possible nutrition into the crown bud by disbudding. By that is meant that all of the short branchcs developed in the upper leaf axils must bz cut off. But most gar- deners want a bushy plant with many blooms, and allow the shoots to develop freely; each will produce terminal buds in clusters c¢f from three to seven. The chrysanthemum is noted for its frost- hardiness, but if the early flowers are not pro- tected against the early frost they will blacken and die after the sun strikes them. One must always be prepar:d with a shelter. There are various kinds. An excellent way is to con- struct a frame over the mum bed, with hct-bed sash for a roof and burlap to cover the sides. In a mild climate cheesecloth or sheeting may be stretched over the flowers. The flowering period over, cut off the tops of the plants, leaving the roots untouched until Spring. Mulch them for Winter protection. ‘Then young shoots will come from the base of the old stems or from the underground parts. Tak: up the plant and separate it so that each division will have a young shoot; then plant your divisions and water them thoroughly in preparation for the coming Fall. The worst pests attacking chrysanthemums are thrips, aphids or plant lice and the midge. ‘Thrips specialize in damaging the foliage, caus- ing it to wilt and drop off. Aphids pierce the plant tissucs and suck the juices and, being tiny, are easily overlooked until they have lcng been at work. The midge causes more damage in the greenbouse, however, than in the garden. To rout these unwelcome garden visitors, spray with the nicotine or tcbacco sprays on the market, according to the directions accom- panying them. Two thorough sprayings will check ¢ach attack. Badly infested foliage should always be burned. (Copyright, 1991.)