Minnesota Report 218-1990

Mums for 1990

Snowsota (82-135-88) produces an informally mounded plant topped by 11/2-inch, full, white, long-lasting pompon flowers with light yellow centers. Centers fade to white, and blooms resist pinking in low temperatures. Clean, medium green foliage clothes stiff stems on 15-inch high, 24-inch wide plants. Blooming in the Twin Cities usually begins the last week of August. Parents are Spartan and Chiquita's Rival.

Maroon Pride (82-A31-12) displays 3- to 31/2-inch, rich dark red, slow fading, fully double, flat decorative flowers atop medium height, uniformly mounded plants. Flowering in the Twin Cities usually begins the last week of August. Flowering peaks within several weeks, and continues to produce new blooms thereafter. Stems are clothed with clean, semi-glossy medium-dark-green foliage on 18-inch high, 28-inch wide plants. Flowering time is similar to Torch Song and about one month earlier than Minngopher and Minnruby. Parents are Ruby Mound and Autumn Fire.

Both cultivars are adaptable to pot culture as spring-flowering plants in natural days. Application of a chemical growth regulator is recommended.

Chrysanthemum Culture

Soil, Site, and Fertilizer-Garden mums grow best in full sun and well-drained soil. Incorporate peat moss, compost, or well-rotted barnyard manure and superphosphate (3 to 5 pounds per 100 square feet) into the soil. If you use peat moss or do not add organic matter, apply a commercial fertilizer in the spring (such as a 5-10-5 or 10-10-10) according to package directions. Sidedressing plants with a complete fertilizer in early August, especially in years of abundant rainfall or irrigation, is recommended. If the fertilizer applied in the spring is a slowly-available type, the second application may not be necessary.

Cultivar Selection-Select cultivars that will bloom before the end of September in the Twin Cities area. Later-blooming cultivars will fail to bloom before damaging or killing frosts in most years. Cultivars usually bloom earlier in northern Minnesota and later in southern Minnesota.

Watering-Do not let plants suffer from a lack of water. One good watering or rain per week, the equivalent of one inch of water, usually is adequate. Insect and Disease Control-Spraying or dusting with an all-purpose insecticide-fungicide mixture twice a month from June through September is recommended.

Late Flowering-Possible causes include wrong cultivar selection; insufficient sun (shaded), fertilizer, or water; pinching too late; root competition from nearby trees and shrubs; unusually hot weather, especially nights, in August; unusually cold weather in August and September; insect or disease injury.

Over-wintering-To be reasonably certain of carrying plants over the winter, use one of these methods:

• Dig plants in the fall and plant in pots, flats, or similar containers. Keep in a cold cellar over winter at a temperature of 33 to 38 degrees F. Water occasionally.
• Dig plants in the fall and plant in a cold frame in a protected location. After freezing weather (November), mulch heavily with leaves, hay, or straw.
• In late fall, remove rooted suckers from around base of the plant. Pot and carry through winter as houseplants.

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