There WILL be an August meeting on Thursday August 9th in the small classroom at the Seattle Police Athletic Association Office (SPAA) site at 11030 East Marginal Way South, Tukwila.
I am sad to report that Mary Lou Ewing passed away July 14, 2018. Please keep Bob in your thoughts and prayers. They had moved to Village Green in Federal Way June first.
Here are the minutes from the July 12th meeting of ECA:
July 12, 2018 ECA meeting minutes
Present: Ron Elliott, Marc Ross, Steve & Sue Joyner, Rich and Jill Aldrich, Erika Harris, David
Rynes, Sydney Ogilvie, John Harden, Alva Nishimura, Janet Anderson
Cultural presentation: Great discussion on the following topics. Steve Joyner brought some plants in to demonstrate taking the bud and lateral control.
Potting on:
At this point all mums should be in their final growing pot. If you are not in the final growing pot by July consider leaving them in the 6 inch pot. You will likely get better blooms by keeping them root bound.
Staking:
Stake up the individual laterals you wish to save so that they won’t accidentally break off in wind and rain. You will need stakes between 3 and 5 feet. Fasten the laterals to the stakes with 4-6 inch twist-ems. Take care to place the stakes vertically straight in the pot. The main lateral joint is a weak spot on the plant. Placing stakes at an angle will pull at this joint and possibly split the plant apart. Vertical staking better supports the weak joint.
Taking the bud:
From late July to late August the terminal buds will start to appear on your laterals followed by a ring of smaller laterals just below the main bud. Once the terminal bud is the size of a small pea the ring of laterals must be removed. This process is called “taking the bud”. you need to let the ring of buds develop to about 1/4 inch before removing them so you don’t damage the terminal bud. To remove these ring of laterals simply push them sideways with your thumb and they will easily break off. Do not pinch them off
Top Dressing:
Top dress pots in late July or early August and again when the buds show color (usually Sept 1 to 15). Spread 1 to 2 handfuls of your final potting mix on each pot. This gives the upper roots a better growing environment. This will also promote new growth from the root ball for next years’ plants.
When buds start to show color they should be brought under cover. At this point any moisture or dew will discolor or mildew the bloom
Lateral Control:
Continue to carry 1-2 more laterals than you want at bloom stage. Surplus laterals are removed later in the summer using the following guide: For #1  cultivars – carry 2 0r 3 laterals initially and cull to 1 or 2 in Aug.
For #3 cultivars – carry 5 laterals and cull in Sept or Oct For #4 & #5 cultivars – carry 4 to 5 laterals and cull in Sept. For earlies (13-15 and 23-25) carry 4 to 5 laterals and cull to 2 or 3 in Sept. For quills, spiders, spoons and singles follow the guide for #4 and #5 cultivars.
Fertilizing regimen:
Continue with mid-season fertilizing regimen (1 to 2 teaspoons of 20-10-20 fertilizer per gallon of water) until you start to see color on the bud. Watch leaves to gauge fertilizing. If leaves become hard or curled then you are overfeeding. If leaves are weak and light green then more fertilizer would help. If leaves are yellow try drying them out. If drying the plant doesn’t help then try feeding 1/2 teaspoon Epsom salts per plant or leaf feed with liquid iron. Do not over feed with liquid iron. John Harden reported that Yellow knight thrives of foliar feedings.
Pest Management:
Continue to review your pest management program every one to two weeks. You need to keep the plants free from black aphids, other bugs and fungal diseases especially before the blooms open. Use a systemic such as Marathon to control aphids. Monitor for other bugs such as leaf hoppers, earwigs, capsid bugs and leaf rollers. These bugs should be picked off the plants or they will invariably ruin the bud. A product called Seven when sprinkled around the roots can be effective in controlling earwigs.
Disease control:
Continue fungal control program through the summer and fall. Spray plants regularly with fungicide. Recommend Ortho Funginex or Diaconal.
Business Meeting minutes:
June Meeting minutes were approved by Steve Joyner and Erika Harris
Treasure’s report presented by Sydney Ogilvie
Checking: $2998.99
Savings: $4063.12
Cash $132.24
Total: 7194.35
Sydney is researching the use of the square to take credit card purchases at the plant sale. There are options to purchase or rent. She is reviewing the fine print to determine which option is best. Sydney presented a list of the April pant sale top sellers.
16 purple light 7 Billy Bell 3 Pot Black
15 Corngold 5 Quan 3 Purple Prince
15 Fairwether 4 Mount Rainier John Hughes
10 Lava 4 Heather James Crimson Glory
9 Cheasapeak 4 Lancaster Fold Morning Star
9 Pineapple 4 Patricia Grace
Multiple bloom vases for late decorative, early English and vases of 3 show entries
Discussion about vase size and color would like to order 4 dozen green vases with approx. 5 inch rim. contact Floral supply in Georgetown. Need to check bylaws to see if we can use oasis in show vases.
Steve Joyner to pick up Late season fertilizer at Stueber’s for next meeting.
Steve Joyner to bring shingle stakes for next meeting
Dates to remember:
Show location Volunteer Park Conservatory
Show dates: Nov 2nd noon to 4 pm; Sat and Sunday Nov 3rd and 4th 10 am to 4 pm
Plant deliveries to back green house: Wednesday, October 31st and Thursday Nov 1st between
10 am and 3 pm
Show set up: Thursday Nov 2nd between 4 pm and 6 pm
Judging: Friday, Nov 2nd between 9 am and noon
Show breakdown: Sunday, Nov 4th 4pm to 6 pm
Banquet date: Thursday Nov 15th at Angelo’s in Burien
6:30 no host bar, 7 pm dinner
Meeting adjourned at 8:25 pm
Please see July & August Cultural Notes and to Do List, although the discussion above pretty much nails it!!
