Evergreen Chrysanthemum Association

EVERGREEN CHRYSANTHEMUM ASSOCIATION
Seattle, Washington
ECAMUMCLUB.ORG

Nancy Halleen, Secretary

HAPPY SPRING !

MEETING OF THE ECA – THURSDAY MAY 10th, 2012 at 7 PM at the Seattle Police Athletic Association Office (SPAA) site; 11030 East Marginal Way South, Tukwila.

At our May meeting, Chris Brookes will be making a presentation on “How computer projection can keep ECA members better informed.” “They” say a picture is worth a thousand words and Chris’ brief presentation will focus on images and information that is readily available to us: on the web, within the ECA computer library, and from member-created Power Point presentations.

Chris has already obtained some great images from our own members, plus assistance from the leading Mum growers in England (help provided by Ivor Mace, Andy Wickham and Paul Barlow) and it is really exciting to learn what we can do. After the presentation, we will need to vote on whether to go ahead and purchase projection equipment or not. Steve Backstrom has very kindly offered ECA the use of his son’s computer so we would only need to acquire a projector. A recommendation with associated costs will be provided.

PLANT SALE RESULTS
Congratulations to all who worked so hard growing plants for sale, setting up the event, and acted as a great sales team on April 13 and 14. We did very well on the 14th. Not quite to the record levels of 2011, but very much in line with earlier years. A great job Bob Ewing and everyone!

Plant Sale Saturday……………………..$1173.00
April meeting (Thursday)………………$ 338.00

There is more to come as some plants went to Portland and others to the Kitsap group.


 NEW MEMBERS
Welcome to Margo Ashby, Tom Bennett, Cynthia Mason, and Loida Ramirez our clubs newest members who signed up during the April Plant Sale.

YEARBOOKS
The 2012 ECA Yearbooks will be at the May meeting. We will mail Yearbooks to members who do not attend the May meeting. Thanks to Mark Ross for again taking on this big project!

UPCOMING EVENTS
Mark your calendars for the following events:
Garden Tour/Potluck – August 12
Puyallup Fair – September 22nd (date to be verified)
USNCS Show and Convention in Portland – October 27 and 28, bloom prep. Oct. 26
Fall Show at Furney’s – November 2 – 4 (set up on Nov. 1)
Awards Banquet at Angelos– November 15

PLANT CULTURE and SUPPLIES –Cultural suggestions are attached for May and will be discussed at the meeting. Remember to contact Mark Ross for soilless and supplies as needed.

If we are mailing you the monthly notice and you have an email address, please send an email to Nancy Halleen with your email address.

TO DO LIST for May and June (revised DRS 4/25/05)

• Stopping:

Most plants are stopped April 15 through June 1, including the Early English classes. Keep your stop list handy and follow it rigorously. The calendar doesn’t move backwards. For #1 and #2 varieties the English literature recommends a fairly hard pinch; that is pinching 6-8 leafs down from the growing tip. For the incurves, #3, #13, #23 pinch the smallest portion of the growing tip to get more uniform growth of the laterals. For all varieties, fertilize 1-2 weeks before pinching to produce more laterals. This is especially true for the Fairweathers.

• Final Potting into 8”, 9” or 10” pots. (Or maybe in the garden soil)

Preparation
• Wash pots (in mild Clorox solution) then rinse in clear water.
• Prepare potting mix. – Soil fewer users; add another 5-10% of screened pumice or Perlite to improve drainage. Also at this final stage, I recommend adding Cedar Grove compost or other fresh compost and a small amount of well-composted horse manure. This results in a mix of 6 parts M&R soil less, 4 parts compost, 1 part pumice, and small amounts of horse manure and Alfalfa meal.Water plants in the 6” pots 1 day before repotting.

• Potting (Pot on when the ring of roots around the bottom of the pot is semi root bound.) Cover drain holes in bottom of clay pots with a piece of broken crock to keep drain clear. Put a layer of broken sod or course pumice in the bottom of pot, then cover with 1 or 2 inches of the final (9”) mix. Place the 6” root ball on top of the 9” mix and fill around with the 9” mix. The top of the root ball should be 1+ inch below the top of the pot. Do not pack the mix except as necessary to hold the plant and stake in place. Stake with shingle or bamboo stick.
• Add Marathon Systemic at this time to control black aphids. Sprinkle ½ tspn. Marathon on top of soil when repotting plant, add a thin layer of mix over the top, then water moderately.

• Note: When potting on occurs after June 1, Consider dropping down one pot size pot because the roots will not have time to fill the bigger pots. # 1 & #2 cultivars, 9” max, 8” could be used. #3s, 8” max.

• Feeding and pest management

• After 3 weeks in final pot start summer feeding program. ` 1 to 2 tsp. 20-10-20 per gallon water, once a week.

Note: Some plants will thrive with the heavier solution, while others
may not like so much fertilizer. Watch the leaves to gauge the fertilizer needed. If leaves become hard and curl up you are overfeeding. If leaves are somewhat weak and lighter green then more fertilizer would help. Miracle Grow is also used quite successfully by some during this summer stage.

• If plants are yellowish, first try drying them out. If drying the plant is unsuccessful, feed ½ tsp. Epsom Salts per plant. Leaf feeding of liquid iron such as Greenall or Sequesterine also helps green up the plant. Follow product directions. Do not over feed Liquid Iron.

• Review your pest management program every 2 weeks,
Marathon systemic is the most effective black aphid control.
Diazinon and most rose insecticides are somewhat less effective, and require spraying every 2 weeks, as they are contact insecticides. Spray every two weeks with a fungicide. Ortho Funginex is recommended. Other fungicides will work well if used regularly. If fungus gets away and is growing fast, a fungicide used to control early blight in tomatoes will really shut it down. I use Monterey “Bravo” for such control.

4. Lateral Control

As side laterals develop after the final pinch, select the number of laterals to carry through the summer and remove all other side shoots. Generally the topmost lateral below the stem break is removed, as it is the weakest lateral structurally and easily broken off by accident. At this early stage you should carry 1-2 more lateral than you want at the bloom stage. An old saying goes: “I grow 2 for me and one for the bug.”

Surplus laterals are removed later in the summer using the following guide.
For #1 & #2 cultivars, carry 2 or 3 laterals initially, cull to 1 or 2 in Aug.
For #3 cultivars, carry 5 laterals and cull Sept. or Oct.
For #4 & b#5 cultivars, carry 4 to 5 laterals and cull to 2 to 3 in Sept.
For Earliers (13-15 and 23-25) carry 4-5 laterals and cull to 2-3 in Sept.
For Spiders, Quills, Spoons, Singles etc. follow the guide for #4 and #5.
Note: Cutting back to the few laterals seems to be a most difficult task for the novice. You must do it however if you wish to get large blooms.

5. Staking.

By now all plants will require staking. A 16-24 in stake should be placed along the main plant stem and tied to it to support and protect the plant. As the side laterals develop it will be necessary to add longer stakes that can support each lateral all the way to bud development. Care must be exercised so as to not spread the new laterals too far apart when staking, as one or more could be broken off. In other words let the laterals grow till they can be easily tied to the new stakes.

EVERGREEN CHRYSANTHEMUM ASSOCIATION
Seattle, Washington
ECAMumClub.org

April Plant Sale Edition
Nancy Halleen, Secretary

MEETING OF THE ECA –THURSDAY April 12, 2012 at 7 PM at the Seattle Police Athletic Association Office (SPAA) site at 11030 East Marginal Way South, Tukwila. This meeting is important as we prepare final details for our Annual Plant sale on Saturday, April 14.

ANNUAL PLANT SALE – APRIL 14 (At Furney’s Nursery in Des Moines – 21215 Pacific Hwy South).

Remember to bring your plants in to Furney’s and help with set up on Friday, April 13 starting at 1 P.M. The Saturday, April 14 public plant sale will be held from 9 A.M. to-1 P.M.

We will discuss who will be attending the set up and staffing of the sale at our April 12 meeting. Bob Ewing has a list of members who have signed up but we can always use additional volunteers. Please bring plants to the April 12 meeting for sale to members.

Please circulate the Plant Sale Flyers taken home from the March meeting – we need a wide information spread. Becky Cox has contacted newspapers in the area and will mail out plant sale post cards that people filled out at our last 2 public events.

ECA CLUB MEMBER PASSING: Roy Kannitzer

Roy joined the Evergreen Club in 1963 and spent the next 48 years growing mums as his favorite hobby. His love for them brought him to every meeting and event the Club had. He wasn’t a large grower, but always brought a few to enter in our shows. Roy had a way about him that put new members at ease because of his smile and genuine personality. He always helped with the work involved in setting up our plant sales and shows and enjoyed talking to the people who came. Needless to say, Roy’s big smile and friendly mannerism will be missed.

His collection of pots and other mum supplies are free for the asking. His son, Bruce, will inventory what he has and let us know. RIP Roy!

Club Library/Publications Notices Notes

Missing Books

Chris Brookes notes that we have a limited collection of excellent reference books and the goal is for Members to take books out for one month only. Thereby we can give as many growers as possible a chance to read and learn from the experiences and knowledge of other growers. However, we are missing a large book called: Chrysanthemum Guide. Since there is only one copy the return of this book is especially important. Please be sure to bring borrowed books back to the April meeting.

Two new books have been purchased last month from the American National Chrysanthemum Society. These publications are of primary interest to those planning to enter the National Show in Portland.

Show Judges Handbook (3 copies)
Handbook on Chrysanthemum Classification (2 copies)

YEARBOOKS
According to Mark Ross, the 2012 ECA Yearbooks will be available for distribution to members attending the May meeting. (He is till trying to determine a final list based on membership payments.) A big thanks to Mark who once again took on the Yearbook duty which required lots of time and effort. It’s a big job and is greatly appreciated.

PLANT CULTURE and SUPPLIES –April and May are the months where most of our cultivars are stopped. An updated ECA cultivar listing will be sent to Steve Backstrom for posting to the club website prior to the April 12th meeting with stopping dates and a method for estimating a stop date when dates are not available. A limited number of hard copies of this listing will also be available at the meeting.

Cultural recommendations are attached for April and will be discussed at the April meeting. Contact Mark Ross, for soilless and supplies needed.

If you prefer to receive future monthly notices by email only rather than US mail, please send an email to Nancy which will also save the Club some money on postage and copying.

APRIL TO DO LIST (edited from DRS 3-21-05)

1. Potting on mums into 4” or 6” pots
· Soilless growers who are using the club recommended M&R mix. This mix is ph balanced at 6.5 and contains a good mix of fertilizers that carry the plant for 3-4 weeks. It requires no additives at this time, but some growers like to add a little Alfalfa meal and some additional pumice for increased aeration.
· Soil or compost mixes: See McGlashen mix in the McGlashen Hand Book. You’ll need to mix your own soil, consisting of compost, or garden loam plus slacked Lime or Dolomite to keep soil sweet plus Steamed Bone to promote root growth. Also, ashes and a little Rose and garden fertilizer (i.e. 4-10-8 or 5-10-10) Pumice or grit may be added to loosen the soil mix.
· Wash previously used pots in a mild Clorox bath (bleach), then rinse in clear water.
· Clay pots are recommended for 4 or 6 inch potting as they breathe and dry out faster during cool April days.
· Pot on when a significant ring of roots forms around the bottom edge of the pot (semi root bound). Do not compact the potting mix. Tie plants to small stakes.
2. Move mum pots outdoors as weather warms. Choose a sunny location.
· Bury pots to rim if using clay. Protect from frost, wind, dogs, cats and Children.
3. Review stopping dates. Most ECA cultivars are stopped Between April 15 and May 30.
· Pinch date lists for most club cultivars should be available at the April meeting. Contact your Coach for other cultivars not on the list.

4 OTHER CARE:

· Control Aphids. Spray for Aphids every 2 or 3 weeks, with liquid Diazinon, or other insecticides. Water only as needed, do not over water.

Fertilize weekly starting the 3rd or 4th week after potting. Standard Miracle Grow is recommended. Water soluble 10-50-10 Peter’s upper blossom booster is also a good substitute.

(Please note the change in recommendation for starter fertilizer. In 2009, Don Stark indicated that water-soluble 10-50-10, Peters Super Blossom Booster plant food, is available at local garden stores or McLendons Hardware in 1.5-pound bags. The application directions indicate 1 tsp per gallon of water for indoor use. Use this fertilizer as a supplement through the 6” pot stage. Don noted that Peters 20-10-20 will be available for use through the summer growth season.)

· Continue culling process in April to get to your final growing group. The 6” potting should be used for this reduction. Don’t always keep the first plants to reach 6” potting stage. Keep the best cultivars. Share surplus plants with other club members. Throw away damaged or diseased plants.

David Helgeson who is the head gardner at the Volunteer Park Conservatory will be visiting our March 8th meeting. Don’t miss this opportunity to hear him speak.

Our thanks to David for the Chinese mum starts that he has provided us for our enjoyment.

Seattle’s Volunteer Park Conservatory is in danger of closing next year unless the city finds a new way to fund it. The Seattle Parks and Recreation department is holding a public meeting to discuss current operating issues at the Volunteer Park Conservatory. The Conservatory is counting on you to attend! Please come give your support and share your thoughts.

……
Wednesday March 7, 2012
7:00 p.m. – 8:30 p.m.
Montlake Community Center
1618 E. Calhoun Street

Learn more about this special treasure. Please read another another article about the conservatory here.

EVERGREEN CHRYSANTHEMUM ASSOCIATION
Seattle, Washington

CLUB PLANT SALES
ecamumclub.org

Nancy Halleen, Secretary

MARCH ECA NEWSLETTER

MEETING OF THE ECA –THURSDAY, March 8th, 2012, at 7 PM at the Seattle Police Athletic Association Office (SPAA) site at 11030 East Marginal Way South, Tukwila.

TELEPHONE COMMITTEE MEMBERS contact your lists early, as your calls do help to increase attendance. Also mention our Club plant sale at the March and April meetings.

DUES – Members are encouraged to pay 2012 dues to Treasurer, Chris Brookes. Annual dues are $15/member or $20/couple. Dues must be paid before or at the March meeting for members to be listed in the clubs 2012 yearbook and to be eligible for member plant sales.

PLANT SALES – The second member plant sale of the year is at the March meeting, March 8th. We will have a second members plant sales at our April 12 meeting.

Our public plant sale will be April 14 (Saturday) from 9-1:00 at Furney’s Nursery in Des Moines (21215 Pacific Hwy South). At least 8 people are needed for Set-Up on Friday April 13 and will discuss staffing the sales at our March 8 and April 12 meetings.

PLANT CULTURE and SUPPLIES – Members are reminded to bring in their extra plants for our member plant sale and the public sales. Only healthy looking plants are accepted for the “Sales Events”. For those bringing in plants, also bring in newspaper or a cloth to cover the table if your plants are in an open bottom carrier. This will help the clean up crew when tidying at the end of the meeting. Cultural recommendations are attached for March and will be discussed at the March meeting.

CONTACT FOR SUPPLIES

Mark Ross will be handling Club supply orders. Please contact Mark for soilless and supply needs for the March meeting.

PLANT SELECTION IS A VERY IMPORTANT ASPECT OF THIS GAME.
You older hands, if you have grown the same cultivar from your own stock with poor results, throw your stock away and buy a plant or two of that cultivar at the plant sale. Select carefully, you want a healthy cutting, and if the grower didn’t think enough of it to put his initials on the tag, go get a different one. Keep looking for the best stock available.

New Members are encouraged to contact Bob Ewing to be assigned a coach who will provide personalized growing instruction and advice. It is highly recommended that new members take advantage of this membership service. Don’t be shy give Bob a call!!!

NEW MEMBERS – Welcome to the new members who joined ECA late in 2011 and early this year 2012. New members receive ten free plants the first growing season. (Couples receive 15 free plants). Introduce your self to our new members Gary Budzeak, Madeline Smith, and Sekiko Yates at our next meetings.

If you are receiving this notice by mail and have email, please send an email to email to Nancy with your email address.

MARCH TO DO LIST (edited from DRS 2-21-05)

1. Clean pots and gather materials for potting:
• For soilless growers, supplies include soilless mix, Peters 9-45-15 fertilizer, and optionally, ¼ inch screened pumice, perlite or grit. Most of our growers use the M & R Soilless potting mix sold by the club. Addition of the pumice perlite or grit is not necessary for this stage. Generally the pumice etc. is added for the 9-inch potting. Some also add the pumice to the mixture for the 6-inch potting.
• For McGlashen soil mixes, you will need good garden loam; pumice, perlite or grit; and leaf mold or course greenhouse peat, plus well composted manure, steamed bone meal, slacked or hydrated lime and a good dry rose fertilizer such as 4-10-8. See your copy of the McGlashen book for details.
2. Pot mums into 4 or 6-inch pot:
• Clay pots are recommended when possible for the 4 or 6 inch potting as these pots breathe and dry out faster during cool March and April days.
• Wash used pots in a bleach/water solution, i.e. 2 teaspoons per gallon of water. Then rinse in fresh water. Let the cleaned pots set in the clear water for 3 or 4 minutes to clear out the bleach. Change the rinse water occasionally to clear out the bleach from previous rinses.
• Pot on when the ring of roots around the bottom of the pot is substantial. Do not compact the mix and leave room at the top for watering.

3. Move pots outdoors:
• After mums have become well established in the new pots (1-2 weeks) move mums outdoors or to cold frame to slow the foliage growth and toughen up the plants. The desirable ambient temperature is 50 to 60 degrees.
• To keep roots warm and at a stable temp, bury the pots in the soil or in a layer of compost or manure. Six inches is a good depth for the compost or manure. A cold frame is the best solution for this stage!
• Lacking a good sunny location, B-9 is a growth retardant spray mix that tends to help plants from getting too leggy. It is available through the club.
4. Stopping Dates:
• Review stopping dates and stop mums as their stopping dates arrive. Very few varieties require pinching in March unless a double pinching regimen is being followed (Phil Houghton March 15 and May 15 for example).
• Refer to the various ECA lists of stopping dates. Copies of a stopping date list will be available at the meeting.
5. Keep growing vigorously:
• Water as needed, but keep relatively dry
• Spray or control aphids
• Fertilize soil less plants with 9-45-15 or Miracle Grow solution starting the 2nd or 3rd week after potting. Use fertilizer at ½ strength that is approximately ½ teaspoon/gallon.
Begin culling process in March to get to the final growing group. Send surplus
quality plants to plant sales or share with other ECA members. Throw away poor
plants and damaged or diseased plants.

EVERGREEN CHRYSANTHEMUM ASSOCIATION
Seattle, Washington

http://ecamumclub.org/

Nancy Halleen, Secretary

HAPPY VALENTINE’S DAY!

MEETING OF THE ECA – is scheduled for THURSDAY FEBRUARY 9, 2012 at
7:00 PM at the Seattle Police Athletic Association Office (SPAA) site at 11030 East Marginal Way South, Tukwila.

TELEPHONE COMMITTEE MEMBERS call your lists early in the week of February 6th as your calls do help to increase attendance.

ECA MEMBERSHIP

For those of you who haven’t yet renewed membership, the cost is $15 per member or $20 per couple. Only paid up members names can be included in the 2012 year book. So please make checks payable to ECA and mail to Christopher Brookes or pay in at the February meeting. If a member has any doubt whether they have paid or not please check with Chris. Thank you

Club Plant Sale The club has three membership only plant sales, one each at our February, March and April meetings. Additionally, a public plant sale is held in April. For this year it will be at Furney’s Nursery on Sat. Apr. 14th.
ECA growers are encouraged to bring started plants to the sales to help others who do not have the facilities to start new cuttings and/or to provide a cadre of plants for growers who wish to add new varieties, replace old, nonresponsive stock, etc. The price to the general membership is: $1.00 per plant. The price for plants to the public (April Sale) is: $2.00 per plant. In general the plants available at the Feb. and March sales will be the late varieties, classes 1 through 10. By March and through April, the earlier blooming varieties, i.e. Early English and many American varieties will show up.
New Members are promised 10 free plants with their membership. No more than 5 of the free plants should be selected at the Feb. meeting/sale and if the new member is not yet ready with facilities to care for the plants in Feb./March, he/she may wait till March or April to pick up their plants. This helps to assure the new grower success, avoid the early season pitfalls, and also provide access to a larger selection of plant varieties such as the early English and American varieties that are typically available in March and April.
Now is the time to develop your new growing plans. Then you can come to the plant sales ready to explore and buy. Don’s to 10 list for the exhibition varieties is included below. It may be helpful as you fill out your growing plans.

FALL SHOW

Thanks to Bob Ewing for tieing down the dates of the Fall Show. It will once again be at Furney’s on November 2, 3, and 4. Set up will be November 1st at 1 PM. Takedown will be on November 4th at 3 PM.

Other calendar dates will be set at the Board Meeting and shared with all members.

New Members are encouraged to contact Bob Ewing to be assigned a coach who will provide personalized growing instruction and advice. It is highly recommended that new members take advantage of this membership service. Don’t be shy give Bob a call!!!

Don’s Top 10

Below is a cherry picked list of exhibition mum varieties that are reliable, somewhat easy to grow and usually blooming at show time. I haven’t included garden varieties/American varieties or others, as there are multitudes of these available through Kings and other sources. There are doubtless many many good varieties that a few of you grow or have acquired. Most are early blooming and can be the subject of another report if someone so desires.

Don’s Top 10 (Cherry Picked) Exhibition mums for 2012

1. Connie Mayhew: (#2 Yellow that everyone should grow) One of the highest quality and most reliable
Cultivars in the club. A consistent winner and keeps well. The 2011 “Best Bloom Open Classes” was
that beautiful Connie from Ron Elliott.
2. Lundy and Yellow Lundy: (#2’s) Real winners and hard to beat in any category. They were also the
Cream of the crop of #2’s in the NCS National show of 2011. The White is brilliant and BIG and you’ll
love the yellow. These are Winners!
3. Apricot Harry Gee: (#1, AOC) Best Bloom in our Show 2011, It’s relatively easy to grow and comes
Into full bloom on time. Need I say more?
4. Len Hall: (#3 pink) this incurve is reliable and in my opinion the best incurve in our stable. It wins
Best Bloom novice, best incurve and best vase of three on a regular basis. It’s been declining with old
Age; but if you still have some good stock, start it and share with the rest of us.
5. Primrose Fairweather: (#3Y) this seems to be the best of the very good Fairweather family, it comes on
Well, finishes out the top and holds up for 2-3 weeks.
6. Seychelle: (#2P) A dark pink reflex that grows BIG, has almost perfect form, very smooth and likes
lots of fertilizer. Best Bloom in show twice.
7. Alexis and Apricot Alexis: (#5 Pink/AOC) Grows big and strong and epitomizes the form for #5’s.
8 Duke of Kent family: White, Cream, and Pink Dukes are the strongest and all can win Best in show.
New stock has revived these old time favorites.
9. Vienna Waltz: (#10 Purple) One of the best spiders to come along. It will hold its deep color well. It
Blooms reliably and on time and is a mainstay in the 3 bloom and 5 bloom vases. It’s a winner!
10.Lili Gallon: Purple with silver under petal (Cougar Colors) Changed from a #5 to a #2 in 2011

Sorry If I missed your favorite drs, 1/25/2012.

PLANT CULTURE – Continue to start plants for our public sale in April. Plants must be given protection for the first few months and carefully nurtured to establish strong root systems before potting or repotting. In February, take starts for the early blooming varieties. At this month’s meeting, the focus is growing plants, cultivar selection, materials and your reference books. Cultural recommendations are attached.

SUPPLIES – Supplies to be available at the February meeting.
· Plant Labels, White and Yellow 100 per pack.
· 2½” Plastic planting/starting cubes
· M&R Soilless Growing Media (Need enough orders to buy a pallet for a lower price). The cultural committee has decided to provide only M&R mix. It is a better product for mums than the mix used previously. This mix can be used for all pottings from the first 2 ½” pot to the 9 or 10” final pot. Contact Don Stark with Soilless orders.

Novice Handbooks will be available at the next meetings and the Public Plant Sale at a cost of $2.00 (payable to the Treasurer)

To receive monthly Newsletters by email only rather than U.S.mail, send an email to Nancy Halleen.

FEBRUARY TO DO LIST.. (New: 1-28-06 DRS)

Continue with cuttings:

Continue taking cuttings throughout Feb. and into March for some. A few early Feb. cuttings can be available for the March/April Plant sales (March Members sale at the March meeting and the public plant sale on Sat. April 14th). Most Feb. and March cuttings should be of the early English and American varieties. Late Decoratives) Classes 4, 5, 14 and 15) should be started primarily in Feb. Take cuttings for yourself and for the plant sale.

Most varieties in classes 1,2 and 3 should have been started by the end of January: however here are some varieties that can be successfully grown from Feb. cuttings. #1 & #2’s Lundy, Yellow Lundy, David Dando, Ralph Lambert, Yellow Ralph Lambert, Athabaska, Harry Gee, Jane Sharpe and Seychelle. #3’s Len Hall, Salmon, Primrose and yellow Fairweathers, Stockton and Heather James.

Cuttings started directly in the cutting bed media should not require fertilization before potting on. If you are starting in the cross bottom bands or 2” clay pots, fertilizer should be added after 3 to 4 weeks as these cutting generally require 5-6 weeks before potting on. Start fertilizing once a week beginning with the 4th week. Use an early Mum fertilizer, Peters 9-45-15 or Plant Marvel 12-45-10 (One Tsp/Gal once a week)

Potting on:

Most growers are using the soilless M&R potting mix sold by the club. In general no additives are required for the early pottings (2” and 4” pots); however some growers like to add some special ingredients. For instance Alfalfa meal or pellets is a good stimulant that can be added. Avoid adding Bone meal, as you will probably find fungi growing on the top of your pots due to too much potassium.
- Pot the mums directly from the cutting beds into 2” pots, or from the starter bands or pots into 3” or 4” pots.
- Use new pots, or wash previously used pots with a mild bleach solution (Clorox) to kill moss and eliminate the viruses. When bleach is used thoroughly rinse pots in fresh water to get the bleach out of the pot.
- Clay pots are recommended for the 2”, 3”, 4” and 6” potttings as the clay pots will dry out better than plastic after watering. This is especially important during the cool March and April days.

- Pot on from cutting beds when the roots are ½ to ¾ in. long (Typically 4 weeks) into 2 ½” or 3” pots.

- Pot on from cross bottom bands, or pots when roots are growing thickly out of the pots or bands (Typically 6 weeks). Do not compact the mix!

- Place the newly potted mums out of the light or under the bench for 2-3 days to stimulate root growth.

Care:

- Shelter mums in the greenhouse, cold frame, or other shelter (Kitchen table or south facing window)
- Temperature should be between 50 and 60 degrees.
- Glass overhead will help keep mums from getting leggy.

Care Continued:

- B-9 is a good growth retardant that tends to help plants from getting too leggy. It is available through the club. If you choose to use B-9 it should be applied at the time of potting on and again at or near pinch time. Caution: Do not use B-9 on plants that tend to naturally grow short: i.e. all the Fairweathers, all the Alexis, Port Stanley and others.

- Plants will remain in this first potting for 4-6 weeks until they have produced a noticeable root ring around the bottom of the pot. Don’t be afraid to knock the root ball out of the pot after several weeks and examine the roots.

- Fertilize with 9-45-15, or 12-45-10 beginning the 4th week
(1 Tsp/Gal once a week) These fertilizers are available through the
Club at the monthly meetings.

See you at the February 9th meeting!

Seattle’s Volunteer Park Conservatory is in danger of closing next year unless the city finds a new way to fund it.

Who would suspect the common mum of being such a hard worker when it comes to cleaning up the air quality?

EVERGREEN CHRYSANTHEMUM ASSOCIATION
Seattle, Washington
www.ECAmumclub.org

Jim Anshutz,Secretary

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

MEETING OF THE ECA – THURSDAY January 12, 2012 at 7 PM at the Seattle Police Athletic Association Office (SPAA) site at 11030 East Marginal Way South, Tukwila. Lots to discuss as we begin the New Year.

Dates of Spring sale and fall show.

Bob Ewing reports that the Miller Library will pass out information about our spring plant sale at the NW Flower and Garden Show at the Convention Center in early February. Bob is exploring with Furney’s a date of Saturday, April 14 for our spring sale and he will report on his findings at the January meeting. Other key ECA dates, including the Fall show and tour/picnic and Board Meeting are yet to be set/confirmed and will also be discussed at the meeting.

2012 Club Dues Reminder:
Please bring your check or cash to the January meeting to pay your 2012 Club Dues. (You may also pay dues by writing a check to the “ECA” and mailing it to Chris Brookes. Dues are $15/member or $20/couple. Paying in January helps us finalize our Annual ECA Roster for our Club and makes Chris’s job as treasurer more manageable.

2012 OFFICER/BOARD MEMBER SLATE

We will elect officers/board members at the January meeting. Nominations for Officers and Trustees for 2012 are as follows:
 
        OFFICERS:
 
       President:           Sydney Ogilvie         
       Vice President:    John Harden   `
        Secretary:           Nancy Halleen
        Treasurer:           Chris Brookes
        Past President     Ron Elliott
     
        Trustees:             3 Year Term   Don Stark – Bob Ewing                              
                                   2 Year Term      Jill Aldrich           - Larry Mayer 
                                   1 Year Term      Steve Backstrom – Mike Kubo
      .
            Cultural:                 Mark Ross,   Don Stark,   David Rynes. 
            Membership:          Bob Ewing
            Show Committee:   Don Stark,     John Harden (Co)

Special thanks to Nancy for agreeing to take over the duties of Secretary as I get ready for a new hip!

Supplies At January Meeting
Make sure to call Don if you have items you need. M & R mix needs must be know in advance of the meeting by calling Don. Price is $5.50 per bag)   Also we will have available:  2 1/2″ cross bottom starting bands and lots of tags.   Fertilizer will come along at the Feb. meeting. 

.January to-do List – (Revised 1/2/06, DRS)
Success for the upcoming growing season begins with the taking of new cuttings needed for ourselves, other club members and for the upcoming public plant sales. Taking the cuttings and potting on the newly rooted cuttings are the major January activities. Hopefully we have kept last years’ stools alive and have added some 20-10-20.fertilizer. At 55 to 60 Deg room temp. our stools should now be producing the strong shoots we need.
Timing:
-Cuttings for classes #1 and #3 should be taken in late Dec. and all of January.
-Most #2 varieties are started throughout January: but Keith Luxford, Ivor Mace and
James Bryant should be started in Dec. or early January, if the stools are far enough
along to produce healthy cuttings.
-Cuttings of classes #4, #5, #14’ & #15 are usually started in late Jan. or Feb.
-Plants to be grown for Specimens (11 or more blooms) should generally be
started earlier, Nov. Dec, or Early Jan. for example.
Spiders Quills and spoons are also good candidates for January starts.

The cutting bed should be a flat four-sided box with heating cable, mat or other devices for heating the cutting medium. The box should be at least 18 in wide so that it can hold 1 or more of the 17 in by 9 in. flats. An overhead Fluorescent lamp such as a 4-foot, two-bulb shop light will provide needed light supplement for the new cuttings. Plantgrow or GrowLux bulbs are good but expensive and simple white bulbs seem to work adequately. Fill the box with 2 ½ to 3 inches of cutting media and provide heating controls to maintain the required temperature.
– Cutting bed media -A 50-50 mix washed sand and peat moss
– Cutting bed Temp -65 to 70 deg F.
Taking the cuttings:
We offer two different methods for handling the initial cuttings:
1. Place the cutting directly in the cutting bed media, maintain cutting bed heat at 65 deg
(In approximately 4 weeks the new cuttings will have roots 1 in. long and are ready to
be transplanted into 2 ½ or 3 inch pots.)
2. Fill the 2 ½ in cross bottom bands with our standard M&R growing mix. Set these
bands directly on top of the cutting media and insert your cuttings directly into the
M&R mix. Maintain cutting bed Temp at 70 deg. In 5-6 weeks the cutting should be
ready for transplanting into 4 in pots.)

The cuttings should be from 1 ½ to 2 inches long with the cut off or break at the bottom of a leaf node. It is recommended to dip each cutting into a mild insecticide/fungicide solution (1/4strength). Then dip the base into Rootone or other rooting hormone before setting the cutting into the growing media.
Cover the newly taken cuttings with a glass or clear plastic cover for up to 3 days after taking the cuttings. Leave some room under the cover so that air can get in and circulate around a bit.
Keep the cuttings moist. Don’t let the bottom of the bed dry out

Place a plant label with each cutting Label should contain the name and classification of the cutting, the date of the cutting and the grower’s initials. For example
Charlie’s Mum, (1Y)
DRS, 12/30/05