EVERGREEN CHRYSANTHEMUM ASSOCIATION
Seattle, Washington
ECAmumclub.org
Jill Aldrich, Secretary
MEETING OF THE ECA – MEETING WILL BE HELD AT DON STARK’S HOME AS PART OF OUR ANNUAL GARDEN TOUR AND POT LUCK PICNIC, SUNDAY AUGUST 19TH, 2007.
TELEPHONE COMMITTEE MEMBERS call your lists early as your calls do help to increase attendance. Please ask if they our attending the garden tour and pot luck picnic and confirm what they will bring to the Pot Luck Picnic and give a count of members attending and dishes they will bring to Claudia Attebery, social chairman. Thanks
2007 GARDEN TOUR – The annual ECA garden tour and Picnic is scheduled for Sunday August 19th. The 2007 garden tour will be in the South end and will finish with a picnic at Don and Jane Stark’s home. Picnic is Pot Luck and at the July meeting, there was a sign up sheet provided. (A copy of the sign up sheet from the July meeting is included with this newsletter) Club members can still sign up and attend. Directions for the upcoming event are attached. Members can also call Claudia Attebery to confirm what dish they will be bringing to the Picnic.
For those going on the garden tour, we will meet at VALLEY RIDGE PARK, right next to TYEE HIGH SCHOOL at 188th and 46th Ave. South. The tour/ Caravan will be leaving at 9:00am sharp. Scheduled stops for the tour include the homes of and Bob and Mary Lou Ewing, Richard and Jill Aldrich, Ron and Sue Elliott and lastly, Don and Jane Stark’s home for our Annual Pot Luck Picnic. Tour order and maps for the tour destinations will be provided at the meeting place, Tyee High School on 188th. The tour will proceed as a caravan from there.
Meet at VALLEY RIDGE PARK (NEXT TO TYEE HIGH, WA 188TH and 46th Ave. S. at 9:00am.
First Stop, Bob and Mary Lou Ewing. Here we will enjoy the Ewing’s beautiful garden and see his MUMS and enjoy refreshments. Next will we continue to Richard and Jill Aldrich’s Mums and garden. We will proceed to Ron and Sue Elliott’s garden for a tour of their yard and Mum’s. We will then proceed to Don and Jane Stark’s beautiful garden where we will enjoy his Mums and also have our annual Pot Luck Picnic. Members who cannot make the tour may proceed directly to Don and Jane Stark’s.
Members should receive a call from the Club’s telephone tree committee this week to determine an estimated head count of those planning to attend and their potluck contribution (hot dish, salad, or desert) to assist the picnic planners.
LOOKING FORWARD TO SEEING EVERYONE AT THE PICNIC
PLANT CULTURE and SUPPLIES: - Place orders for specific items with Don Stark. Cultural recommendations are attached for August and September. It is time to consider your sheltering options for September as we move to the latter part of the growing season.
Happy 51st Anniversary to Bob and Mary Lou Ewing. August 4th CONGRATULATONS
EVENTS:
Aki Matsuri:
The 2007 Aki Matsuri will be held Saturday, Sept. 8th & Sunday the 9th.
I-5 on the Bellevue Community College’s main campus, Admission & Parking are FREE. E-mail www.enma.org. Tom & Katsuko Brooke.
Puyallup Fair:
First Show Friday, September 7th, second show is Saturday September 15th, 2007 additional information will be available at the Pot Luck Picnic or call Mark Ross.
As a reminder, please send any email address or postal address changes to Jill Aldrich. To receive future monthly notices by email only rather than US mail, please send an email to Jill.
AUGUST TO DO LIST – Revised July 2005 by Don Stark and Bob Walker
August is a major growing month. Continue with the watering, feeding, and pest control programs noted in the July newsletter. l The appearance of bud color, especially for the early cultivars, signals a shift to the late season feeding program. Flush the pots at least once during the month to reduce the accumulation of fertilizer salts in the pot. Disbudding is the primary cultural activity for the first half of August. Stake and reduce the number of laterals as the buds appear and are secured. Experience suggests there is no way to get too much support for laterals and blooms. Top-dress the plants with fresh potting mix to assure maximum plant growth now and new shoots for next season.
Staking and Lateral Control
Surplus laterals are removed as the buds are firmly established for all varieties with the exception of incurves (classes 3, 13, and 23) and some intermediate types (classes 5, 15, and 25), which are culled in early September. With 2 ½ months until the ECA show, it may be conservative to wait a few more weeks for the final reduction in the event of bug damage, wind, or accidents.
Reduce the number of laterals to the final count as listed below. For early varieties follow last number, ex. #14 and #24 use #4.
For #1 and #2 cultivars, carry 1 or 2 laterals.
For #3 cultivars, carry up to 5 laterals, cull to 3 in Sept.
For #4 cultivars, carry 2 or 3 laterals.
For #5 cultivars, carry 2 to 5 laterals.
All laterals should be individually staked Fasten the laterals with “twist’ems”. If the laterals are not staked or otherwise supported, they break off with rain or breeze and also grow crooked, making the resulting bloom difficult or impossible to enter in shows.
Blooms and Bloom Support
Watch for buds and secure them as they appear. Most buds appear by August 15. Look for “rabbit-ear” leaves below the bud and laterals forming at leaf axils. As the bud reaches about ¼ inch, or the size of a small pea, it should be secured by removing the ring of side buds and the other side shoots that may appear in the leaf axils below. Keep those new laterals removed. This grooming of the selected laterals will require regular and sometimes daily attention.
Prepare strips of wood 16-18 inches long and 3/8” wide made from shingles, shakes, or ¼” plywood. Stain them green preferably. These are used to support each bloom and are secured with two “twist’ems”. Place them on the bud/lateral as the bud over-grows the stakes to protect the lateral and bud, to keep the lateral growing straight, to support the bloom, and keep the bud horizontal. A “cocked” bloom will never win a blue ribbon.
Feeding & Top-Dressing
Top-dress the pots in early August and again when the buds show color, about September 1-15. Put about 1 handful of compost or Soil less mix on the surface of the pot and level it each time you top-dress.
Water thoroughly when you water and then almost dry out the plant before watering again. If plants are yellow, first try drying them out. If drying out fails, feed ½ teaspoon Epsom salts per plant or carefully use of one of the liquid iron solutions.
Continue fertilizing until buds appear with the mid season fertilizer program as described in the July to-do list.
Flush the pots once per month to prevent fertilizer salts build-up.
The appearance of the bud especially for the early cultivars, also signals a shift to the late season feeding program. When the buds appear, stop or reduce feeding ½ strength for 1-2 weeks and water the plants more sparingly. At this stage it’s time to change the feeding program to a late season fertilizer. Either switch to a high potash fertilizer (15-11-29) or continue with the 20-10-20/20-9-20+ fertilizer and add approximately15 % by volume of Murate of Potash. In either case continue to fertilize at ½ to 2/3tsp per gal of water.
Pest Management and Housing
Review your pest management program every two weeks and correct as necessary. Have your plants free of aphids and fungus before the blooms are set to open. Aphids in blooms are cause for disqualification at shows.
Spray every two weeks with a fungicide or an insecticide/fungicide if not using Marathon as an insecticide.
Watch for and destroy earwigs. They wreck blooms when they get inside.
Finally, anticipate your housing needs and start preparations to get your show flowers under cover by the first or second week of September.