Take cuttings of chrysanths
The weather may still be cold, but it’s time to get your chrysanths started
The month of January is when you need to start taking cuttings of your early flowering chrysanthemums. The stools you boxed up in October/November from last season’s flowers should be ready and waiting with some good cutting material produced. This is your cutting material ready to root.
I use an ordinary multipurpose compost, but it must be 100 per cent peat. Take cuttings of about 5-7.5cm (2-3in) long and root in a standard seed tray, with about 40 cuttings per tray (eight rows of five). I’ll then place the trays of cuttings onto a heated bed, set at 16C (60F). At this stage I’ll give them a good watering in,
which will do them for a good couple of weeks before I need to water again.
These cuttings should be rooted after about three to four weeks and starting to grow. This is when I’d remove them from the heat and place in a cooler part of the greenhouse to prevent them from getting too tall.
Don’t worry if you’ve no cutting material yourself because you can buy the stock from known suppliers as rooted cuttings of various varieties. Try the following suppliers: Chrysanthemums Direct: www.chrysanthemumsdirect.co.uk. John Peace Chrysanthemums: www.johnpeace.co.uk. Frank Charlton Chrysanthemums: www. miniaturebulbs.co.uk. Ivor Mace: www.ivormace.com. Halls of Heddon: www.hallsofheddon.co.uk. Woolmans Chrysanthemums: www.woolmans.com.