Follow the Route 
by the late Wallace Brook 
( Published in NCS Yearbook 1979) 

Choice of routes
Travelling by road from Wetherby to London I would have a choice of routes - A1 or M1 and I would never consider setting off on the A1 and then changing course half-way to London by joining the M1. 

A similar parallel can be drawn when growing chrysanthemums for show purposes. Decide on the route you are going to follow and see it through to the end. Deviate only when unforeseen circumstances occur. Should your cultural routine include the use of soilless compost, then use this method at each progressive potting stage. Do not start off with a soilless compost and then change to John Innes No. 2 for the 5-inch potting. 

When calling on the many friends I have in the chrysanthemum movement, I observe wide variations in the condition of plants at any given time. Yet at the end of the day when the blooms are on the show bench there is little to choose between them. 

Visiting Stan Butterworth's garden at Kendal about June, his plants were very thin and tall, only an optimist could visualise a bloom on the top of such plants that would stand a chance at a local show. They seemed to be in need of food, yet their physical condition and type of wood were excellent as was the leaf count on each lateral. 

Root action was good indicating that if nutrient was made available it would be assimilated by the plant. At the end of August a second visit revealed to the eyes of an experienced exhibitor plants that would carry first-class blooms. The foliage under the blooms had an appearance of well-being, gradually becoming smaller as one looked down the main stem, similar to an inverted Christmas tree. The top leaves were deeper in colour than those below, the stems had a reddish tinge and one could see that the upper part of the plant and its root system were in balance. 

The magnificent blooms eventually carried by this type of wood were fabulous-'Bruera' with breadth and depth in equal proportions, approximately 7-8in. across and with excellent shoulders. His 'Kingston Imperial' were only a shade smaller. A judge at one show stated that they should be shown in the large class being too big for mediums. However, the next day they were awarded best exhibit and a Silver Medal at Penrith Show. 

By contrast let us journey across to the Wainings plot at Bradwell where early in the season one would see plants like oak trees, making Stan Butterworth's look like undernourished weaklings. Later in the season the plants looked capable of producing blooms like "Japs" -ripe wood, thick stems and a root system capable of taking adequate food from the soil. These plants were almost double the weight of those at Kendal but at the end of the day the blooms from either grower were of the highest possible quality. 

Facts as I see them: 
Stan produces his blooms on good ripe wood by application during bud swell. The Wainings produce their blooms from a heavy balanced plant leaving the buds to develop their blooms without supplementary feeds. Brian Ramsdale takes a different route. His growing is based on a steady development of the plant, not too thick and ripe, not as heavy and vigorous as the Wainings, yet his method gives a plant which gradually rises to its peak at flowering time. 

Each of the aforementioned growers follow a different route and will not deviate from it, yet in each instance the end product is top quality blooms and I am sure a change of method by any of them would reduce bloom quality. 

Similarly with Lates. 
Decide whether you are going to use the Fred Collier or the Ted Podmore method. Fred was head gardener to Captain Wills of Blagdon, Somerset in the 1960's. His 'Balcombe Perfection' and sports were like Section 2 medium exhibition blooms, and in the South-West of England were almost unbeatable. His method was similar to Stan Butterworth's. On one occasion when in his garden I saw a batch of Lates in 5-inch pots standing out on an ash base in full sun. The leaves on each plant were flagging and touching the main stem, indicating to most growers an immediate need of water, but not to Fred. "They will be watered on Monday" - two days later! He explained that chrysanthemums in their natural habitat on the mountainsides of the Far East had to fight for existence and his method produced for him a plant well ripened with an excellent root system. 

Then, just before bud show, nutrients were increased and the additional feed applied to a plant with a good root system ensured a larger bud containing more florets. Subject to the development being maintained while the florets were growing larger, super quality blooms were ensured. Ted Podmore's cultural routine was similar to that practised by Brian Ramsdale with Earlies-a steady continuous build-up from the rooted cutting, obtaining peak of development as the blooms reached maturity. 

Phil Houghton's set of Japs in 1966, when he won the Centenary Trophy and best large exhibition bloom in the show with 'Lilac Prince', were cut from plants with heavy thick stems, large foliage and very tall - but they were in balance in their growth with firm ripe wood. 

One overriding factor in the above observations is root action which, in turn, depends on soil condition. No root action, no flowers. However, if you have a good root action you will not automatically have good flowers, as prolific root action and too much food at the wrong time will cause bloom quality to suffer. 

Too much nitrogen while the plant is growing and before the bud is produced will make for a soft lush plant and a small bloom. Too much nitrogen after the bud can cause rotted flowers, or it has been known for buds to drop off. Beware, not too much at the wrong time. I recommend one type of feed from start to finish. Should your choice be Bentley's, proceed as follows: Six weeks after final potting, apply a level teaspoonful of No. 1 each week. After securing the bud, use Bentley's No. 2 at a maximum of two teaspoonfuls at ten day intervals up to one or two weeks before housing. Then no more feed on any account until the flowers are at least one-third of their full size. 

Thereafter should you consider your plant to be nicely balanced a liquid feed on one or two occasions may do some good. However, it will depend entirely upon your plant being in almost perfect balance at the time of application. It is essential that a plant is in the right condition to successfully apply "bloom feed". 

With regard to the cultural merits of fibrous loam compared with soilless compost, at one time I considered that a good exhibition bloom required fibrous loam to give top quality results. I am now convinced it is not so. Many first-class blooms are today grown in soilless compost. Undoubtedly good root action is obtained in this material and it is up to the grower to ensure that the essential plant feeds are made available. 

A formula that has given me first-class results is as follows: Six parts loam Two parts granulated peat One part Perlite To each bushel add: 8 ounces Bentley's No. 1 4 ounces powdered seaweed 5 ounces bonemeal. 

Finally, make the choice of route you propose to follow and follow it to the end, unless some emergency arises to cause you to deviate.

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