February 2024 Newsletter

Hi All

It’s hard to believe that January 2024 is now just memory!

If you haven’t already started, now is the time to bring the stools into a heated area and feed with a dose of high Nitrogen fertilizer such as Miracle grow to stimulate new growth.  It will take 2 to 4 weeks for shoots to develop enough to take cuttings.  Shoots need to be a minimum of 2 inches tall for a good cutting.  At our house this translates to moving in and heating the old stools in late Dec. so that we can start new cuttings in mid to late January.  It’s good practice to start the late flowering varieties (1-5) first. There’s more discussion on this topic in the cultural notes below.    At this point we all should have several plant stools already producing good shoots for our January cuttings.

The ECA February meeting will be held on Saturday, February 17th at 10 am at Volunteer Park Conservatory in the lower potting shed.  

We will be taking early English, late decorative, spiders, spools, quills and garden variety starts for the public plant sale.  If you have plant stools of the listed classifications please bring them to the cutting college so we can take cuttings. Many hands make light work.  Please come help. This is a great learning opportunity for members who have not taken cuttings before.  We look forward to your participation.  Bring your labeled stools that have healthy shoots. We will have pizza and salad for lunch- provided by the club.

Our monthly meetings area great venue to learn from our experienced growers.  I encourage you to bring your questions and share your growing experiences!

Included in this email are parking directions for the cutting university.  Please let me know if you have any questions.

SOME IMPORTANT REMINDERS:

If you have not yet done so, Please pay your annual ECA dues. 

ECA Single Membership -$15.00  ECA Couples membership $20.00

We recently learned that the Clover URL link that has been included in our monthly newsletter as a way to pay our membership is no longer supported.  We are actively working on a solution.

For the time being we now have two ways to pay membership dues:

1.   a) send a check made out to Evergreen Chrysanthemum Association c/o Erika Harris PO Box 66155 Burien, WA 98166
2.   b) bring your cash or a check to the monthly meeting

  

Supplies:

The following supplies will be available at the February meeting:

M&R soil less mix

Plant tags

Twist ems

Early Season Fertilizer

B9

2 inch starting pots

If you need clay pots we have a wholesale clay pot resource – Washington Pottery.  Contact Sue Joyner at [email protected] to get our wholesale access information.

IMPORTANT DATES:

Saturday March, 9th at 10 am and Saturday, April, 13th at 10:00 AM – ECA Member Plant Sale – Volunteer Park Conservatory

Plant starts will be available exclusively to ECA members at our March and April meetings

Saturday April 20th – 9 am – 2 pm  – Public Plant Sale – Volunteer Park Conservatory

Saturday, February 17th – Cutting University at Volunteer Park Conservatory   10 am – 2 pm

Please bring your labeled stools that have healthy shoots.  

We will be taking early English, late decorative, spiders, spools, quills and garden variety starts for the public plant sale.

This is a great learning opportunity for members who have not taken cuttings before.  We look forward to your participation.

We will have pizza and salad for lunch – provided by the club..

Cutting University PARKING – 

Turn right off of 15^th Avenue East onto East Highland Drive

Continue in the roundabout past the statue

Drive through the bullards blocking the back drive

Continue down the road about 300 feet – you will see a gated driveway on your right

Open the “mock locked” cyclone gate, continue through the gate, close and “mock lock” the gate

Park in the gravel parking lot just below the lower green house

ECA 2024 Calendar:

Saturday, January 13, 2024       10 am – Noon – Cultural discussion focus – Cutting Preparations

Saturday, February 10, 2024      no meeting – please plan to participate in the 2/17/24 cutting University event

Saturday, February 17, 2024      10 am – 2 pm – Cultural discussion focus – ECA Cutting University

Saturday, March 9, 2024            10 am – Noon Club Plant Sale          

Saturday, April 13, 2024            10 am – Noon Club Plant Sale

Saturday April 20, 2024               9 am –  2 pm Public Plant Sale

Saturday, May 11, 2024              10 am – Noon – Cultural discussion focus – Bonsai and Cascades

Saturday, June 8, 2024              10 am – Noon – Cultural discussion focus – Hybridization; propagating from seed     

Saturday, July 13, 2024             10 am – Noon – Cultural discussion focus – Soil composition/ fertilizers     

Saturday, August 10, 2024        10 am – Noon – Annual picnic     

Saturday, September 14, 2024  10 am – Noon – Cultural discussion focus – Show challenge opportunities and entry process      Saturday, October 12, 2024       10 am – Noon – Cultural discussion focus – Show preparations     

2024 SHOW DATES   Thursday, October 31, 2024 – Show set up and flower entry

November 1st – 3rd, 2024 – Evergreen Chrysanthemum Association 77^th annual chrysanthemum show at Volunteer Park

Saturday, November 16, 2024   ECA annual appreciation dinner and banquet – time and location to be announced later

Saturday, December 14, 2024       10 am – Noon – Cultural discussion focus – Caring for your plant stools

Our January meeting was canceled due to in-climate weather.

Below are some items that would have been discussed

1) Growing Plan – now is the time to start thinking about your 2024 growing plan

2) Prepping stools to produce shoots

About 4 weeks before you plan to start taking cuttings, plant stools need to be warmed up, lightly watered and fertilized with the early season fertilizer.

3) Start collecting the materials you will need to take cuttings and start your plants

1.   a) Earth pots –
2.   b) 2 inch cross bottom pots
3.   c) Soilless potting medium – club recommends M&R soilless potting mix
4.   d) Rooting hormone
5.   e) Grow trays
6.    f) Humidity dome
7.    g) Diluted pesticide – neem oil, soapy water, hot water
8.    h) #2 Pencil
9.     i) Plant tags

4) Information to collect on plant tag.

    FRONT                                             BACK

1. a) Varietal classification              a) 4 inch potting date
2. b) Varietal name                         b) 6 inch potting date
3. c) Start Date                               c) Pinch date
4. d) Grower initials                        d) Final potting date

Optional information to capture –

1. a) Fertilizing/pesticide dates
2. b) B9 date(s)
3. c) Systemic date

5)  Taking cuttings from plant root stock was recommended over stem cuttings.  The reason – Florigen, is a protein in the plant stem that triggers buds to form.  A plant started from a stem cutting could potentially be an early bloomer. To mitigate the possibility of an early blooming mum from a stem cutting, some of our members double pinch the plant.

6) Experienced growers in our club recommend taking cuttings by pinching the shoot rather than cutting with a knife.  This process is less likely to spread disease.  Using a blade to cut off the shoot could potentially spread disease from plant to plant.  We had a great discussion about disease prevention

7) Lastly, briefly soak the cutting in a diluted pesticide/ fungicide mixture to eradicate any potential bug problems before applying the rooting hormone and potting the start.