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Last wood krysanthemum1/4/2024 Those plants which turn a bluey green or wilt on a morning, these plants will get watered and by doing this you are encouraging a nice healthy root system. You should also keep up with your spraying programme as a deterent for White Rust, Green Fly and Black Fly.Īgain when they are in the cold frame I spot water, meaning only water those plants which are giving me signs that they need water. If there is a frost forecast protect your plants by covering the cold frame with either an old carpet or some heavy duty poythene. When they are in the cold frame remember to watch out for severe frosts. Once I have potted them on I will leave them in the green house for a further few days prior to moving them into the cold frame. March is the time I start to move my plants on from 3” pots into 5” pots and for this I use the same mixture as I did for the 3” except that I use John Innes number 3 instead of number 1, mixed with a multi-purpose compost. If you do not have the luxury of heat, cover them with fleece or newspaper whenever a frost is forecast.įinally keep pests and diseases at bay by spraying with an off the shelf pesticide or fungicide.īy March I will have thoroghly cleaned out my cold frame and painted the inside white. Keep your greenhouse frost free during this month with the aid of a heater, electric, gas or paraffin. I try to grade the plants I am growing by selecting plants with the same number of leaves on to gain even growth and helps with the timing of the flower. This indicates to me that they require water, by doing this it encourages the roots to go searching for water and thus giving you a good root system. When I have potted my plants on into 90cm pots I won’t water in, I leave them until they show signs of wilting or turning a dark green colour. It’s nothing fancy but it has done a good job for me over the years. I then mix 50/50 with any multi-purpose compost that contains a good percentage of peat, which is hard to find these days. My first potting compost is mixed a few days before using any John Innes No 1 compost, which can be purchased at any garden centre. The first cuttings, which I put to root in early January have now rooted and are ready to be potted into 90 cm (3½”) pots. This is a busy month for me I am still rooting my early chrysanthemum’s right up until the middle of the month. I put this on a timer setting it to come on from 6am – 10am and 3pm – 8pm. The grow light I use is high pressure sodium lamp 400 watt. With the light levels being very low and day lengths short it is beneficial to use a grow light if you can to help your cuttings to root a bit quicker. I try to keep a bottom heat of 60°it usually takes me three to four weeks at this time of year for the cuttings to root. I insert 40 cuttings in each seed tray to save space on the propagating bench. I root my cuttings in a standard seed tray in any multipurpose, peat based compost which is available. If you take the cutting from further up the stem they will not produce the same number of leaves as a cutting taken from the base. I always try to take my cuttings from the base of the stool. The first cultivars that I root are the ones that take the longest to develop from cutting to full bloom for example Joyce Frieda, 13b and Billy Bell, 15a. I take my cuttings in batches of four hoping to have a concession of flowers over a four week period. After making sure that your greenhouse has been cleaned thoroughly and your propagating beds have been erected ready for bringing in your stools from the cold frame. This is an important time of year for getting your planning right for the shows in September.
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