Get ready for chrysanth blooms
GARDENING WITH THE Keeping plants well-watered, fed and pest-free gives a good show later in the year
John Peace (early chrysanths)
Wou'll probably start to see colour this month, firstly on the large intermediates (such as ’Billy Bell’) and medium incurves (’Joyce Freda’). In my garden ’Joyce Freda’ is the first to show colour, around July 20. When this happens I'll spray the tips with an insecticide and put a bud bag over them. Bagging developing blooms protects them from the elements, keeps them clean and improves the form of the flower. I secure the neck of the bag around the stem with a twist tie and mark the date on the bag to give me an indication of when the flower will be ready. It takes about four to five weeks from this date to be ready for show. After 11 days in the bag you need to change to a larger greaseproof bag, so the bloom has more room. Inflate them by inserting a tube into the neck of the bag and blowing up. You only bag incurving and intermediate varieties and not reflexing ones. Once the plants are
showing colour I'll stop the feeding programme and just give them water. Also, keep on top of spraying to deter pests and disease.
I always say ’prevention is better than cure’.
Ivor Mace (late chrysanths)
July is when late-flowering chrysanthemums are making their flowering stems. It’s important to remember to continue with steady feeding to produce good flowering stems to support full-sized blooms. I use a base fertiliser like Medwyn’s base fertiliser with trace elements and once the buds begin to appear, change to Medwyn’s high nitrogen base fertiliser with trace elements. Alternatively you can use soluble fertilisers when you water, again using a balanced feed and one with a little more nitrogen once the buds appear. Be careful not to feed once the buds come near to showing colour.
Tying the stems to canes every 15cm (6in) as the plants grow to prevent wind damage is important. At this time it's best to be carrying one extra stem on each plant. Large and medium exhibitions, which we flower on just one bloom, can carry two stems for now and incurves, which would carry three blooms per plant, can have four stems for now. This will ensure that if anything should go wrong with a stem you’ve got a spare. And if you don’t need it, you can remove it later on.
It's also important to ensure the plants are free from aphids and other pests like thrips and caterpillars. Use an approved insecticide
at the first sign of any of these pests. It's virtually impossible to clear pests from the plants once they start to bloom so it's best to have a routine to keep pests at bay.
Correct watering is an important part of growing chrysanthemums in pots. Until around mid July, if I’m in doubt whether a plant should be watered I wait one more day, but from mid-July onwards if I’m in doubt, then I water.