Download Chrysanthemums

Potted Plant Productions
Chrysanthemums
Introduction
• Dendranthema grandiflora or
Chrysanthemum morifolium
• Native to China and Japan
• #2 potted flowering plant
• Grown year round
• Bright, Colorful, large variety, live long, &
EASY TO GROW
Cultivars
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Many types
1. Decorative
2. Daisy
3. Pompon
4. Fugi
5. Spider
6. Spoon tip
7. Anemone
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Colors
1. Yellow
2. White
3. Pink
4. Bronze
Response periods
8, 9, & 10 weeks
Propagation
• Usually purchased
from specialty grower
• 1 cutting/4.5” pot
• 2-3/5-5.5”pot
• 4-5/6”pot
• Azalea pots are used
• Planted at 45° angle to
allow for more room
to grow
Propagation
• Cuttings bought can be rooted and unrooted
• Unrooted cuttings are:
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stuck directly in finishing pot
watered in
placed under mist
as time progresses mist intervals lessen
romoved from mist when well rooted
Growth Requirements
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Media1. Well drained
2. Well aerated
3. Sterile
4. High water holding
capacity
• 5. pH of 6.0-6.5
• Water • 1. Requires LOTS &
LOTS & LOTS of
H2O
• 2. Don’t allow to wilt
• 3. Subsurface
irrigation prefered
Growth Requirements
• Fertilizer • 1. HEAVY FEEDERS
• 2. Begin when roots
develop
• 3. Constant liquid feed
of 300-400ppm N&P
• 4. Reduce during final
stages of growth
• Temperature • 1. Starting mum temp
– 65-68°F at night
– 70-75°F during the
day
• 2. After a few weeks
temps should be
– Night - 62-65°F
– Day -65-70°F
Growth Requirements
Light
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High light intensity
Short days for flowers
Long days for vegetative growth
Night interuption is used to create long days
10 fc of light from 10pm-2am
Short days can be created by pulling a black
cloth from 5pm-8am
Growth Requirements
• Pinching– Will increase the
number of flowers
– can be done when a
good root system has
developed and 3/4”-1”
of new growth
– 12-14 days after
planting
– Soft pinch leaving 6-8
leaves
• Bud Removal
– There are Three types
• Disbudding
• Center bud removal
• Multiple bud removal
Disbudding
• Improves the size &
quality of the flower
• Remove all lateral
buds
• Leave only terminal
bud
• Do as soon as buds
can be handled
Center Bud Removal
• Improves flower
placement
• Minimizes “clubby
spray formation”
• Remove terminal bud
only
• Do as soon as terminal
bud separates from
lateral
Multiple Bud Removal
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Creates a fuller plant
Second soft pinch
Done 2-3 weeks after first pinch
remove 1/4”
Growth requirements
• Height control
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most commonly controlled with B-nine
2 weeks after pinching
rate of 2500-5000ppm
depends on cultivar grown
Problems
• Insects –
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Aphids
Fungas gnats
White fly
Thrip
Leaf miners
Spider mite
Can be controlled by
IPM system
• Diseases – Stem rot
– Foliar pathogenms
– Can be controlled by
fungicide drench,
keeping humidity
down and maintainingn
dry foliage
Problems
• Physiological – Heat delay - delay of flowering due to heat.
Minimized by using heat tolerant cultivars,
decreasing temps, increase ventilation
– Uneven flowering - cause by leaks in black
cloth, high temps, low light, ethylene
– Neckiness- elongated stem below flower.
Controlled by B-nine, 1-3 days after disbuding
Post Harvest & Handleing
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Maximize light levels
Stop fetilizer 3-4 weeks before marketing
Lower temps 2-3 weeks before sales
Ship plants cool
Ship when 1/2 - 2/3 open