hi All and sorry for the short notice,
The regular December meeting is Thursday December 12th at the SPAA south classroom at 7 PM.  See our website http://ecamumclub.org under about for a map & directions. This is an important meeting as we determine officers for the coming year. Nominations are encouraged from the floor at the December meeting for all open officer and trustee positions. It is up to all of us to rotate as officers periodically to provide the club fresh ideas and new perspectives.Please plan to be there to discuss leadership opportunities for next season.  We will need a NEW club secretary and we will also need a NEW Newsletter Editor, e-mailing list manager, as well as coordinate our banquet.  We are an all volunteer organization – please step up if you are able.
Please bring a list of your “cutting inventory” – that is stools that you plan to take cuttings from.  If you cannot attend, please e-mail the list to Steve Joyner.
There are some ECA shirts to pick up.
We will also be discussing supply needs such as:Plant tagsPeat trays/cubesFertilizerSoilRooting hormone

Our Banquet was held again at Angelo’s in Burien November 14th.  For those who missed the banquet, we will do a brief review of the awards.

We will also discuss how the show went and ideas going forward.

2020 Club Dues
Members are encouraged to pay dues for 2020. Annual dues are $15/member or $20/couple. Checks made out to the ECA or cash should be given to Sydney Ogilvie, current ECA Treasurer.
If you wish to continue receiving the Newsletters and “To Do” Lists, you are encouraged to pay your dues for 2020 by January, so you are not dropped from our Database. The ECA By-Laws, Article 1, states that fees are due no later than the March meeting for members who have paid dues in 2019.

ANNUAL AWARDS BANQUET:
Our Annual Banquet is at Angelo’s in Burien, Thursday November 14, 601 SW 153rd, Burien, WA. Come at 6:00 PM for the Social Hour, Dinner at 7:00 PM. Everyone is welcome to enjoy an evening with good friends, good conversation and an excellent dinner.
Put it on your calendar – THURSDAY NOVEMBER 14th 6-9 PM. Dinner choices this year are Beef, Chicken Parmigiana, or a Vegetarian Lasagna. Please note if you wish Gluten Free, you will be accommodated. Dinner this year will cost $28.00/person and includes salad, bread, coffee or tea and Spumoni Ice Cream. A sign-up sheet where you list your meal preference will be available at the October meeting as well as at VPC during the Flower Show. Please pay the $28.00/person dinner cost to Sydney Ogilvie at the October meeting (checks made out to ECA). Please sign up by the end of the show (November 4th).   Also: PLEASE remember to BRING your late maturing blooms for display at the ECA awards dinner.

Showtime!!!

EVERGREEN CHRYSANTHEMUM ASSOCIATION
Seattle, Washington
http://ecamumclub.org/

SHOWTIME!

MEETING OF THE ECA – is scheduled for THURSDAY OCTOBER 10, 2019 at
7:00 PM at the Seattle Police Athletic Association Office (SPAA) site at 11030 East Marginal Way South, Tukwila. We are meeting in thermal south classroom the right as you come in the driveway. This is an important meeting as we develop plans for our annual mum show and confirm plans for our award banquet.

73rd Annual ECA show timeline
Tuesday October 29th – 10am VPC show set up  – Volunteers needed
Wednesday, October 30th – 10am VPC show set up – Volunteers needed
Thursday, October 31st – 10am Chrysanthemum entry
Blooms can be taken to VPC earlier in the week if need be.
Friday, November 1st 8am – 12pm Show Judging – Judging assistant volunteers needed
Friday, November 1st 12pm – 4pm 73rd ECA Chrysanthemum show at VPC
Friday, November 1st 6pm – 8pm Friends of the conservatory reception
Saturday, November 2nd 10am – 4pm 73rd ECA Chrysanthemum show at VPC
Sunday, November 3rd 10am – 4pm 73rd ECA Chrysanthemum show at VPC
Sunday, November 4th 4 pm – 6 pm – show clean up – Volunteers needed
Thursday, November 14th Awards banquet at Angelos in Burien

ECA Volunteers are needed during the show to answer questions and represent our organization.

ECA volunteers are also needed for setup, cleanup and friends of conservatory reception

ANNUAL FLOWER SHOW The E.C.A. annual flower show will be held Friday November 1nd, from Noon – 4 PM and Saturday November 2nd 10 AM – 4 PM & Sunday, November 3rd from 10 AM- 4 PM at the Volunteer Park Conservatory, 1400 East Galer Street in Seattle.

At our October meeting we will discuss details for setting up our show, entering blooms/plants and handling the mechanics of judging and staffing our event. We need all members to attend and volunteer to help with the Show even if you don’t have any flowers to enter. In addition to show set up on Wednesday, we need Judge’s Helpers on Friday and Hosting on Saturday, and Sunday. The Show provides a great way to get to know Club members and learn more about Chrysanthemums. Sign up sheets for this work will be at the meeting.

If you have any questions about the show, please contact Ron Elliott our Show Steward. We’ll have copies of the show rules, entry form and name tags for the show at VPC (and hopefully at our October meeting.)

TROPHIES
Last year’s Trophy winners please bring your clean trophies and give them to Ron Elliot who will prepare them for this year’s Awards Banquet. If you have not given him your trophy yet, please contact Ron to make arrangements.

ANNUAL AWARDS BANQUET:
Our Annual Banquet is at Angelo’s in Burien, Thursday November 14, 601 SW 153rd, Burien, WA. Come at 6:00 PM for the Social Hour, Dinner at 7:00 PM. Everyone is welcome to enjoy an evening with good friends, good conversation and an excellent dinner.
Put it on your calendar – THURSDAY NOVEMBER 14th 6-9 PM. Dinner choices this year are beef, Chicken Parmigiana, or a Vegetarian Lasagna. Dinner this year will cost $28.00/person and includes salad, bread, coffee or tea, and dessert. A sign-up sheet where you list your meal preference will be available at the October meeting as well as at VPC during the Flower Show. Please pay the $28.00/person dinner cost to Sydney Ogilvie at the October meeting (checks made out to ECA). Please sign up by the end of the show (November 3rd). If you have any questions regarding the Banquet, contact Steve. Also: PLEAES remember toBRING your late maturing blooms for display at the ECA awards dinner.

Plant culture The October meeting will be devoted to the care and how to prepare your mums for the show. Cultural recommendations are attached. With possible rain or showers, consider your sheltering options for your plants.

December Meeting – ELECTIONS OF NEXT YEAR’S CLUB OFFICERS:

We’re rapidly approaching the time once again to volunteer & vote for the 2020 ECA Board of Directors/Officers. Recent members are encouraged to fill positions and get involved; seasoned club members will provide assistance. Members will vote on new Officers during our Dec. 12th meeting.

October ECA Newsletter Inputs, To-Dos and others

Supplies:
We will have available the usual assortments of ties, 4’ 6” and 16” ties, and LATE Fertilizer. If you need any soil, and some soils for the all important top dressing.
You’ll need to continue supplementing you feed with sulphate of Potash.. It’s available in many garden stores in 1-2 lb bags so you can obtain the potash that way.

Show Materials:

Show materials will be available at the October meeting and at the show site. You will need: -Entry forms where you list all the entries you make at the show, -Bloom tags, and a -Show Rules book which guides you as to how and where you can enter your blooms. You might want to start with appendix 2 of the show rules as it is an overview of where you may enter your various blooms. i.e. It starts With Large Exhibitions (Class#1) and shows the various places you can enter #1 blooms. Then it shows the same for #2s, #3s etc. After you understand all the places available for entering your blooms, then you return to the show Catalogue page 7 and start filling out your entry forms and tags.
We will have several copies of the show rules book at the meeting. You should have received a copy of the show rule in the past couple of years, but in case you have misplaced it we will have replacements available.
Show vases are provided at the show site, but you must provide your own waterborne carrier system to get the blooms to the show.
An updated copy of “Chrysanthemum Judging For the ECA Show-2013” has been posted on the web site. You should study this to understand what the judges are looking for when they judge the blooms: hence for instance, if you have petal rot on a petal or two you should remove those petals.
Reclassification of varieties for 2012-2013 per the Ncs:

-Mt. Shasta has been Reclassified from section 1 to section 2–show this year as section 2.
-Keith Luxford has been reclassified from section 2 to section 1–Show this year as a section 1.
-All Fairweathers have been reclassified as section 5. –Show this year as a section 5. However per
published NCS rules, some #5s can be shown as #3S, but will be judged on the standards for #3s
-Connie Mayhew has been reclassified from a #5 to a #2. Since our ECA list of exceptions allows showing
Connies as #2s or #5s nothing changes.
-Lilly Gallon has been reclassified from #5 to #2.—Show this year as either a #5 or a #2.

Draft Minutes of ECA Meeting September 12, 2019:

In attendance: Rich Aldrich, Jill Aldrich, David Rynes, Heidi Garman, Sue Joyner, Erika Harris, Gerald, Quintua, Steve Joyner, Ron Elliott, Cathleen Williams, Sydney Ogilvie, June Kubo

Cultural Notes Care and feeding of chrysanthemums during bloom stage Water sparingly – don’t water until the leaves start to flag, feed lightly using the late season fertilizer (4/18/35) the club has available for this season. Top dress to promote root growth.  Yellow foliage can be due to over watering, soil PH, lack of nutrients, disease

Discussed how to take the buds and how many laterals to carry on to the final bloom stage. 

Business Meeting

Treasurers report: $8386.29

Sydney reported that she had paid the web host $120 for the web host to host our website for another year.

1) Old Business

a) ECA shirts – 

Steve Joyner -shirts are on order will have them at next meeting

one time set up fee – $75

Polo Shirts $29+$6 embroidery fee =$35 total

Long Sleeved poly/cotton button up shirt $34+$6 embroidery fee =$39 total

ECA will cover the set-up fee.  Members will pay for shirts and embroidery fee

Discussed using the clover credit card cube to make shirt purchases and practice using the machine.  Those present expressed desire for hooded sweatshirts and a yellow Connie Mayhew on the embroidery

b) Trophies – Sue presented her ideas for the trophies listed below

Incurve Challenge   

Garden Variety Challenge

Best vase of 3 incurves 

c) Replating trophies –Heidi reported that she has contacted several replating companies but the work we need done is not a large enough order.

d) VPC greenhouse steps – Steve Joyner reported that the city of Seattle department of engineering is developing plans for the back steps at the conservatory.  They are aware the FOS and ECA are willing to contribute funds for the stairs

e) Updating ECA Web page – Sue Joyner and her son Dan have administrative privileges and will start working on an updated web page 

f) Volunteer park Friends of the conservatory is looking for gardeners that would like to teach a workshop or lead a lecture on a topic of their choice! FOC typically have lectures / workshops the first Tuesday of the month for up to twenty students in one of their potting sheds behind the conservatory for members and the general public to attend for about 1-2 hours. Rachel Bennett, FOC vice president rachel.bennett@volunteerparkconservatory.org is the contact.  She wants to know if ECA has any interest in participating as a workshop presenter. 

ECA consensus is that we would be able to provide several presentations throughout the year.  But not present every month throughout the year.  Sue Joyner to report back to Rachel.

Fall Show preparations

Filling out the entry forms – Mark Ross shared how to compete the bloom entry forms for the show

Advertising:

a) Erika Harris brought 1000 ½ page show flyers for distribution to nurseries and garden centers throughout the pacific northwest

b) periodical/newspaper advertising – Jill and Rich to reach out to publications and media for show advertisement

c) Media (TV) coverage for ECA fall show – would like to see TV coverage at the show – Ron Elliott to make this contact

Pictures & ID’s for spring plant sale:  Heidi Garman will take pictures

Sign-up sheets for show tasks – show task sign-up sheets were distributed so people could sign up for show tasks

Show entry numbers – Sydney and Mark will have show entry number available for next meeting

April 192020 was proposed as the spring public plant sale date – need to verify that date with VPC.  Want to put the spring plant sale date on the plant sale interest cards that will be distributed during the show.

ECA members were asked to return their trophies at the October meeting so they can be cleaned and updated for the show awards banquet

New Business

Please welcome new member – Cathleen Williams  cathleenjwilliams@gmail.com 408-838-6857.  She is enthusiastic about gardening and growing mums!

Bob Ewing passed away on Friday, Aug 30, 2019 due to an aggressive bladder or prostate cancer that was identified mid August 2019.  At the point it was identified the cancer had metastasized throughout his internal organs.   At the time of his death he was staying with his daughter Linda and on Hospice care.  His memorial service is scheduled for Saturday September 21, 2019 at 11 am St Columbas Episcopal church 26715 Military Rd S, Kent, WA 98032

Flowers from ECA will be ordered for the service.ECA 2019 Calendar

Meeting Dates:  All 

Thursday, January 10, 2019   7 pm – 9 pm Thursday, July 11, 2019 7 pm – 9 pm  

Thursday, February 14, 2019 7 pm – 9 pm Thursday, August 8, 2019 7 pm – 9 pm

Thursday March 14, 2019     7 pm – 9 pm Thursday, September 12, 2019 7 pm – 9 pm

Thursday, April 11, 2019     7 pm – 9 pm Thursday, October 10, 2019  7 pm – 9 pm

Thursday, May 9, 2019     7 pm – 9 pm Thursday, November 14, 2019 – Banquet

Thursday, June 13, 2019       7 pm – 9 pm Thursday, December 12, 2019 7 pm – 9 pm

Trustees Meeting:

Saturday, January 5, 2019 10 AM – NOON

Cutting University (VPC):

Saturday, February 16, 2019   10:00 am -1 pm Confirmed with VPC

Club Plant Sales:

Thursday, March 14, 2019 7 pm – 9 pm

Thursday, April 11, 2019 7 pm – 9 pm

Public Plant Sale:

Saturday, April 13, 2019  10:00 am – 2 pm Confirmed with VPC

2019 Evergreen Chrysanthemum Show: Confirmed with VPC

Set up: Tuesday, October 29, 2019  

Wednesday, October 30, 2019  

Thursday, October 31, 2019  

Judging:  Friday, November 1, 2019     8 am – Noon  

Friends of the conservatory open house: Friday, November 1, 2019   6 pm to 8 pm

Public Show:  Friday, November 1, 2019     Noon to 4 pm  

          Saturday, November 2, 2019     10 am – 4 pm  

          Sunday, November 3, 2019       10 am – 4 pm  

Clean up:  Sunday, November 3, 2019    4 pm – 6 pm  

Banquet:

Thursday, November 14, 2019  6 pm Location to be determined

EVERGREEN CHRYSANTHEMUM ASSOCIATION
Seattle, Washington
ECAMumClub.org

Email us at: steve at ecamumclub dot org

MEETING OF THE ECA – THURSDAY September 12, 2019 at 7 PM at the Seattle Police Athletic Association Office (SPAA) site, small classroom on right at 11030 East Marginal Way South, Tukwila.

A Sad Note: Long time member and Cutting College Founder Bob Ewing passed away August 30th. Memorial Service details soon.

SEPTEMBER MEETING – Please, please, please, come to the meetings in September and October! These are very important meetings as we begin to prepare for our annual show at Volunteer Park Conservatory which will take place on November 1, 2,& 3, More details at the meeting. This will be our third show at VPC. Many hands make light work – please try to help out if you are able.

UPCOMING EVENTS
Mark your calendars for the following events:
National Chrysanthemum Society Show in San Marino, CA(Los Angeles County) November 7-10.
For more details, see: http://www.mums.org/2019-national-convention-and-show/
ECA Awards Banquet November 14th, 2018. Location to be determined

PLANT CULTURE and SUPPLIES: – The September meeting will devote time to the care and feeding of the blooms as they develop. Place supply orders, especially Soiless for top dressing with Ronnie by Monday September 9th. With possible rain or showers consider your sheltering options for September as we move to the latter part of the growing season.

Draft Minutes from August 8th ECA Meeting:

EVERGREEN CHRYSANTHEMUM ASSOCIATION

THURSDAY, AUGUST 8, 2019 7:00 pm – 9 pm

MEETING Minutes

Clinton Bamboo, Inc

In attendance: Ron Elliot, Alva Nishimura, Erika Harris, Lizzie Whetstone, Sue Joyner, Rich Aldrich, Jill Aldrich, Mark Ross, David Rynes Gerald Quintua

Cultural Notes

Erika gave us a fabulous tour of Clinton Bamboo (and more!).  We also got to see Erika’s Chrysanthemum’s and learned about some of her growing strategies.  It was a warm and beautiful evening for an outdoor meeting.  Thank you Erika for your warm hospitality and delicious food!

Business Meeting

No treasurer report

1) Old Business

a) ECA shirts – 

Steve Joyner will bring an example to the Sept meeting 

one time set up fee – $75

Polo Shirts $29+$6 embroidery fee =$35 total

Long Sleeved poly/cotton button up shirt $34+$6 embroidery fee =$39 total

ECA will cover the set-up fee.  Members will pay for shirts and embroidery fee

Discussed using the clover credit card cube to make shirt purchases and practice using the machine

b) ECA non-member best bloom ribbon and certificate will replace the non-member trophy. 

c) Plant sale chairperson – Still no plant sale chairperson however Erika volunteered to take care of the paper work related pieces of the plant sale.  Sue Joyner to outline job responsibilities. Sydney Ogilvie will ask her granddaughter if she would photograph the show flowers so the photos can be used at the spring plant sale.  Sue will follow up with Sydney.

Plant sale items for for Fall show 

1) Take bloom pictures with names – Sue to check with Sydney

2) ECA business cards on hand – Ron Elliott

3) Use Clover for shirt purchases – Sydney Ogilvie

d) Missing Trophies – Sue Joyner will bring trophy recommendations to the September meeting for Incurve Challenge and Garden Variety Challenge.  Best vase of 3 incurves, need to add a new trophy for the Garden Variety Challenge

e) Replating trophies – Sue to contact Heidi Garman for update

f) VPC greenhouse steps – Steve Joyner contacted David Helgeson at VPC regarding handrail installation and how ECA might grant funds for the project.  David Helgeson reported that handrail project has been presented to the city of Seattle engineering department.  The project now includes replacing the steps and the handrail.. 

g) Updating ECA Web page – Sue spoke with Steve Backstrom regarding change to the ECA web page.  He reported that our web master is not able work on our web site right now but gave the go ahead to get someone else working on it.  The web page is built in Word press.  Will need to provide administrative privileges. 

h) Media (TV) coverage for ECA fall show – would like to see TV coverage at the show

5) New Business

ECA Fall Show Preparations

A) Erika Harris to have fall show flyers available at the Sept ECA meeting

B) Sign-up sheets for show tasks

C) Volunteer Sign-up sheets – Sue and Erika

ECA 2019 Calendar

Meeting Dates:  All 

Thursday, January 10, 2019 7 pm – 9 pm Thursday, July 11, 2019 7 pm – 9 pm  

Thursday, February 14, 2019 7 pm – 9 pm Thursday, August 8, 2019 7 pm – 9 pm

Thursday March 14, 2019 7 pm – 9 pm Thursday, September 12, 2019 7 pm – 9 pm

Thursday, April 11, 2019 7 pm – 9 pm Thursday, October 10, 2019 7 pm – 9 pm

Thursday, May 9, 2019 7 pm – 9 pm Thursday, November 14, 2019 – Banquet

Thursday, June 13, 2019 7 pm – 9 pm Thursday, December 12, 2019 7 pm – 9 pm

Trustees Meeting:

Saturday, January 5, 2019 10 AM – NOON

Cutting University (VPC):

Saturday, February 16, 2019   10:00 am -1 pm Confirmed with VPC

Club Plant Sales:

Thursday, March 14, 2019 7 pm – 9 pm

Thursday, April 11, 2019 7 pm – 9 pm

Public Plant Sale:

Saturday, April 13, 2019  10:00 am – 2 pm Confirmed with VPC

2019 Evergreen Chrysanthemum Show: Confirmed with VPC

Set up: Tuesday, October 29, 2019  

Wednesday, October 30, 2019  

Thursday, October 31, 2019  

Judging:  Friday, November 1, 2019     9 am – Noon  

Friends of the conservatory open house: Friday, November 1, 2019   6 pm to 8 pm

Public Show:  Friday, November 1, 2019     Noon to 4 pm  

          Saturday, November 2, 2019     10 am – 4 pm  

          Sunday, November 3, 2019       10 am – 4 pm  

Clean up:  Sunday, November 3, 2019    4 pm – 6 pm  

Banquet:

Thursday, November 14, 2019  6 pm Location to be determined

The August 8th ECA meeting will be held between 7pm and 9 pm at Clinton Bamboo, The largest local bamboo grower in Seattle. The address is 12260 1st Avenue South, Seattle, WA 98168. Call Erika Harris for more info. We will tour the nursery, see Erica’s Chrysanthemums. There will be appetizers provided by the club. Spouses are welcome to attend. This should be very interesting and a lot of fun.

Here are the DRAFT minutes from the July meeting:

EVERGREEN CHRYSANTHEMUM ASSOCIATION

THURSDAY, JULY 11, 2019 7:00 pm – 9 pm

MEETING MINUTES

Seattle Police Athletic Association

In attendance: Sydney Ogilvie, Erika Harris, Steve Joyner, Susan Joyner, David Rynes, Mark Ross, Ronnie Elliott, Gerald Quintua, Heidi Garman

Cultural Presentation 

Reviewed ECA July “To Do” List

Continue Feeding Program

a) After 3 weeks in the final pot start a bi-monthly mid-summer feeding program (1 to 2 Teaspoons of 20-10-20 fertilizer per gallon of water). Miracle grow is suitable only for the specimen plants having 11 to 20 laterals.  It has too much nitrogen for the plants with fewer laterals. Connies, Dukes, Jessies, Ralph Lambert, Gigantics, Harry Gees, Elsie Prosser are all heavy feeders.  Consider increasing the fertilizer concentrations on these varietals.   On the other side, most reds and Purples and most incurves require a lighter feeding level such as 2/3 tsp per Gal.  Keep in mid that it is very easy to over fertilize.  Watch leaves to gauge fertilizing. If leaves become hard or curled then you are overfeeding. If leaves are weak and lighter green then more fertilizer would help. If leaves are yellow try drying them out. If drying the plant doesn’t help try feeding ½ teaspoon Epsom salts per plant or leaf feed liquid iron. Do not over feed liquid iron. Leaf feeding with liquid Iron products such as Sequesterine or chelated Liquid Iron will also help green up the plants. Also, you might need to add some lime to sweeten your mix. Try adding ½ tsp per pot of slacked/hydrated lime. Ph control should be addressed for all your plants. If you have general yellowing on new leaves or green mold on the pot or soil, it’s a sign of acidity. In general you could add ½ to 1 tsp slacked lime once a month until housing. In general a ph from 6.25 to 6.5 is desired. If you increase the ph too much on reds and purples the bloom color will be less bright.
– Continue this feeding program right up to the bud formation, then drop to approximately ½ tsp per gallon through most of the bloom formation. Heavy feeding during the early bud growth can seriously deform the buds.
-Water thoroughly when you water but don’t water until the plant needs water or feed. Jessies and Dukes generally require less water than most, so don’t water them just because you are walking by with the hose. On the other side, Gigantics and Pat Brophy need more frequent watering. In following your watering program, it is good to let your pots dry out a tad before rewatering as that tends to promote stronger roots. Note: I did not say you should let your pots dry out during the starting stages, nor during the bloom stage.

Continue Pest Management Program

Review pest management program every 2 weeks. Marathon systemic insecticide is applied once per growing season to each pot at the rate of ½ tsp per pot to control aphids, (particularly black aphids). A product called Seven when spread around the roots and or sprayed on the plant can be very effective in controlling ear wigs.

Continue Disease Control

For disease control spray regularly ( every two weeks) with a fungicide during the summer and Fall season. Ortho Funginex or Daconil are recommended.  Daconil can be purchased at McLendons Hardware. It takes care of Botrytus, Early blight, Rust, Late blight, Ring spot, Powdery mildew and other diseases that we typically associate with the heavily fertilized mums. A word of caution: as advertised on the bottle, always use a good fine mesh Nasal filter with Dacolin and don’t expose yourself, others, or pets to this as it can be very harmful. In particular you don’t want to get any of this spray in your lungs. See detailed uses and precautions attached to the package. Spray with fungicides every 2-3 weeks, don’t wait until the fungus is visible. It’s also recommended to thoroughly spray your pots when cleaning them for housing.

Continue Lateral Control

Side laterals will 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 Earlies (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.

Begin Staking Plants

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.

4. Consider Flushing:
If you are growing in a straight Soilless mix such as M&R you should flush your pots every 4-6 weeks to get the excess salts out of you medium. If you are mixing compost or loam with your soilless the excess salts will be absorbed by the soil and flushing isn’t generally necessary. Never the less it’s a good idea to give your pots a good flushing once or twice. For flushing, fill the pot with clear water, let it drain, refill and drain twice more. After you have completed the flushing, there will be little feed left so it’s a good idea to add a new weeks supply of fertilizer.

5. Start thinking about Top Dressing:
Top dress the pots in late July or early August and again when the buds show color(around Sept 1 to 15). Spread 1 to 2 hands full of your final potting mix on each pot. This gives the upper roots a better growing environment.

8. Start thinking about Taking the buds:
From mid-July to late August the terminal buds will start to appear on your laterals, followed by a ring of smaller buds just below the main bud. It is necessary that the ring of smaller buds be removed, leaving only the single bud on each lateral. This process is termed “Taking the Bud”. You need to let the ring of smaller buds develop to near ¼ inch before attempting to remove them so as to prevent damaging the main stem and primary bud. To remove the buds simply push them sideways with your thumb and they will easily break off. Don’t pinch them off. At this time it’s a good idea to add the bloom support stick i.e a small 16” long stick, tied to the main stem and to the support stake. This support will keep the growing stem straight and the bloom sitting square on top.

As a note we will be changing our fertilizer mixture by adding more Potash after the bud is taken. The August newsletter will cover this in more detail.

Business Meeting

1) Approve June meeting minutes – Mark Ross approved June meeting minutes and Ronnie Elliott seconded

2) Treasurers report presented by Sydney Ogilvie

June Financial Balance $8485.01

3) Old Business

a) Reviewed Show rules for Cascade and Bonsai classification determined that there is no need to modify the show rules at this time.

b) Madeline West has asked for our help providing 1 or 2 Chrysanthemum judges to judge the mum section at the November 18, 2019 Cross Sound District of Garden Clubs District show.  We agreed to help with the judging and would like to inquire about the possibility of entering mums in the district show.  The updated show rules were emailed to Madeline as a resource for classifications and the criteria for entering mums in a show.

c) ECA shirts – Steve Joyner reported that ECA logo one time set up fee – $75

Polo Shirts $29+$6 embroidery fee =$35 total

Long Sleeved poly/cotton button up shirt $34+$6 embroidery fee =$39 total

ECA will cover the set-up fee.  Members will pay for shirts and embroidery fee

Discussed using the clover credit card cube to make shirt purchases and practice using the machine

 d) Show ribbons have been ordered from Regalia should be delivered the first week of September

e) Non-member trophy replacement – Mark Ross proposed that instead of replacing the trophy, we should give the non-member winner a large ECA non-member best bloom ribbon and certificate.  David Rynes seconded the motion.  Sue Joyner will place an order with Regalia. 

f) Missing Trophies – Steve Joyner to research

Best vase of 3 incurves, 

Garden Variety Challenge

g) Replating trophies – Heidi Garman to research

h)  Plant sale chairperson –   Erika volunteered to take care of the paper work related pieces of the plant sale.  Sue Joyner to outline job responsibilities, Sydney Ogilvie will ask her granddaughter if she would photograph the show flowers so the photos can be used at the spring plant sale

4) New Business

a) The August 8^th ECA meeting will be held between 7pm and 9 pm at Clinton Bamboo, The largest local bamboo grower in Seattle.  The address is 12260 1^st Avenue South, Seattle, WA 98168.  Erika Harris can be reached at 206-795-8410.  We will tour the nursery, see Erica Harris’s Chrysanthemums.  There will be light appetizers provided by the club. Spouses are welcome to attend.   

b) Access to the back green house at VPC is limited because the back steps do not have a handrail.  David Rynes proposed that we contact Volunteer Park Conservatory to discuss the installation of a handrail on the back steps and how ECA might grant funds for the project.  Marc Ross seconded   Steve Joyner will contact VPC (Dave Helgeson) to discuss this proposition. 

c) Ron Elliott would like to see us contact a local news station for coverage of our fall show at Volunteer park conservatory

d) There was a discussion about updating the ECA web page.  Sue will contact Steve Backstrom

ECA 2019 Calendar

Meeting Dates:  All 

Thursday, January 10, 2019    7 pm – 9 pm Thursday, July 11, 2019         7 pm – 9 pm  

Thursday, February 14, 2019  7 pm – 9 pm Thursday, August 8, 2019         7 pm – 9 pm

Thursday March 14, 2019 7 pm – 9 pm Thursday, September 12, 2019 7 pm – 9 pm

Thursday, April 11, 2019 7 pm – 9 pm Thursday, October 10, 2019      7 pm – 9 pm

Thursday, May 9, 2019 7 pm – 9 pm Thursday, November 14, 2019 – Banquet

Thursday, June 13, 2019 7 pm – 9 pm Thursday, December 12, 2019 7 pm – 9 pm

Trustees Meeting:

Saturday, January 5, 2019 10 AM – NOON

Cutting University (VPC):

Saturday, February 16, 2019   10:00 am -1 pm Confirmed with VPC

Club Plant Sales:

Thursday, March 14, 2019 7 pm – 9 pm

Thursday, April 11, 2019 7 pm – 9 pm

Public Plant Sale:

Saturday, April 13, 2019  10:00 am – 2 pm Confirmed with VPC

2019 Evergreen Chrysanthemum Show: Confirmed with VPC

Set up: Tuesday, October 29, 2019  

  Wednesday, October 30, 2019  

Thursday, October 31, 2019  

Judging:  Friday, November 1, 2019     9 am – Noon  

Friends of the conservatory open house: Friday, November 1, 2019   6 pm to 8 pm

Public Show:  Friday, November 1, 2019     Noon to 4 pm  

          Saturday, November 2, 2019     10 am – 4 pm  

          Sunday, November 3, 2019       10 am – 4 pm  

Clean up:  Sunday, November 3, 2019    4 pm – 6 pm  

Banquet:

Thursday, November 14, 2019  6 pm Location to be determined

Monday November 18, 2019 – provide Chrysanthemum judges for Cross Sound District of Garden Clubs District show – Madeline West contact

Hi All

Our July meeting is Thursday July 11th @ 7 PM at the South Classroom.

Heads-up: The Cross Sound District of Garden Clubs may need 1 or 2 Chrys. Judges at our November 18, 2019 District show, because we plan to have a section on mums………….. This is an opportunity to help at a grade show and carry the message about ECA. Please prepare to discuss at the meeting or you can contact Madeline West for more details.

Please contact Ronnie if you need supplies.

DRAFT Minutes of ECA June Meeting:

THURSDAY, June 13, 2019 7:00 pm – 9 pm

Seattle Police Athletic Association

In attendance: Mark Ross, Gerald Quintua, Steve Joyner, Susan Joyner, Ronnie Elliott, Erika Harris, Alva Nishimura, David Rynes, Sydney Ogilvie

Cultural Presentation by Erika Harris

Growing Bonsai

Soil Composition – ½ Cocoa fiber and ½ M&R mix or like

Mix with water to make mud

Remove starting soil and place plant into depression on rock surface

Compress mud around the plant and rock

Wrap in wet newspaper and keep wet for about a week

Spray with liquid fertilizer

Apply B9 weekly to help keep shape 

Growing Cascades

Solzan – Pink

Snow Dome – White

Firefall – Orange – really flexible

Place plant in shallow pot with wire frame attached

Carefully tie plant to frame and continue to train it as it grows.

13 weeks prior to show date cover w black plastic 12 hrs/day to force blooms

There’s a lot more pieces to this.  Secretary will clarify with Erika

Fertilizer education – handout provided for everyone present

Reviewed  June “To Do” List

1) Stopping Dates 

refer to cultivar list on the website for specific cultivar recommended stopping dates

2) Final potting into 8”, 9” or 10“ pots

a) Prepare pots by washing them in a mild Clorox solution (1 Tablespoon per gallon of water) then rinse in clear water.

b) with the goal being to make the plants semi root bound consider placing # 1 & #2 cultivars, 9” max, 8” could be used. #3s, 8” max

c) When potting take place after June 1st consider dropping down one pot size because the roots will not have enough time to fill the larger pots.  

3) Potting up process:

a) Place a piece of broken rock in the bottom of the pot to keep the drain clear. Place about 1-2 inches of dirt in the bottom of the pot. 

b) Add Marathon systemic to control black aphids. 

c) Place the 6” root ball on top of the dirt so that the top of the root ball is 1 to 2 inches below the rim of the pot. 

d) Fill around the root ball and stake in place with a shingle or bamboo stake.

4) Feeding Program

a) After 3 weeks in the final pot start a mid-summer feeding program (1 to 2 Teaspoons of 20-10-20 fertilizer per gallon of water. Watch leaves to gauge fertilizing. If leaves become hard, curled or turned over then you are overfeeding. If leaves are weak and lighter green then more fertilizer would help. If leaves are yellow you are overwatering or there is an iron deficiency.  First try drying plant out. If drying the plant doesn’t help try feeding ½ teaspoon Epsom salts per plant or leaf feed liquid iron. Do not over feed liquid iron. 

Pest Management Program

Review pest management program every 2 weeks. Spray with a fungicide every 2 weeks- Ortho Funginex or Daconil are recommended. Organic fungicides – Neem Oil or Botaniguard

Lateral Control

Side laterals will 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 Earlies (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.

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.

Business Meeting

1) Welcome our New members – Gerald Quintua, Bruce Fischer, Benjamin Bentler

2) Approved May meeting minutes – Gerald Quintua and Erika Harris approved and seconded motion

3) Treasurers report presented by Sydney Ogilvie

June Balance $8497.48

Plant sale balance – $2183.00

4) Old Business

a) Erika found some small boxes on Amazon that we can purchase for 10 cents per box for next years’ plant sale – Erika will order them for the show.

b) Plant sale chairperson – 

c) Missing Trophies – Steve Joyner to research replacements for

Best Bloom Non-Member, 

Best vase of 3 incurves, 

Garden Variety Challenge

d) Replating trophies – Heidi Garman to research – no update at this meeting

e) ECA shirts – Steve Joyner presented shirt information will contact an embroidery company to inquire about their shirt requirements

f) New member coaching assignments – coaching contact information has been distributed to new members

5) New Business

Review show rules for Bonsais and spray categories

ECA 2019 Calendar

Meeting Dates:  All 

Thursday, January 10, 2019 7 pm – 9 pm Thursday, July 11, 2019 7 pm – 9 pm  

Thursday, February 14, 2019 7 pm – 9 pm Thursday, August 8, 2019 7 pm – 9 pm

Thursday March 14, 2019 7 pm – 9 pm Thursday, September 12, 2019 7 pm – 9 pm

Thursday, April 11, 2019 7 pm – 9 pm Thursday, October 10, 2019 7 pm – 9 pm

Thursday, May 9, 2019 7 pm – 9 pm Thursday, November 14, 2019 – Banquet

Thursday, June 13, 2019 7 pm – 9 pm Thursday, December 12, 2019 7 pm – 9 pm

 Trustees Meeting:

Saturday, January 5, 2019 10 AM – NOON

Cutting University (VPC):

Saturday, February 16, 2019   10:00 am -1 pm Confirmed with VPC

Club Plant Sales:

Thursday, March 14, 2019 7 pm – 9 pm

Thursday, April 11, 2019 7 pm – 9 pm

Public Plant Sale:

Saturday, April 13, 2019  10:00 am – 2 pm Confirmed with VPC

2019 Evergreen Chrysanthemum Show: Confirmed with VPC

Set up: Tuesday, October 29, 2019  

Wednesday, October 30, 2019  

Thursday, October 31, 2019  

Judging:  Friday, November 1, 2019     9 am – Noon  

Friends of the conservatory open house: Friday, November 1, 2019   6 pm to 8 pm

Public Show:  Friday, November 1, 2019     Noon to 4 pm  

          Saturday, November 2, 2019     10 am – 4 pm  

          Sunday, November 3, 2019       10 am – 4 pm  

Clean up:  Sunday, November 3, 2019    4 pm – 6 pm  

Banquet:

Thursday, November 14, 2019  6 pm Location to be determined

MEETING OF THE ECA – THURSDAY June 13th, 2019 at 7 PM at the Seattle Police Athletic Association Office (SPAA) site; 11030 East Marginal Way South, Tukwila. We are in the small classroom on the right as you come down the driveway. June is a particularly busy month in growing mums so hope you can attend the meeting and bring your questions!

The following supplies will be available at the June meeting to support your final potting on. Call Ronnie right away if you need soils
Pre-Orders from Speciality Soils
– M&R Mix 1 cu ft. bag
– Pumice (coarse) 1 cu ft.
– Farmyard Manure 1 cu ft.

Other Club supplies available
– Mid Season Fertilizer, 20-9-20+ You’ll need this once you have potted on to the final pot-9″ or 8″
– Early Season fertilizer, 12-45-10
– Marathon 1% Systemic Insecticide (For control of black aphids)
-Twistems of various lengths
-Plant tags

Minutes from the May Meeting are below:

EVERGREEN CHRYSANTHEMUM ASSOCIATION

THURSDAY, April 11, 2019 7:00 pm – 9 pm

MEETING MINUTES

Seattle Police Athletic Association

In attendance: Ron Elliott, Lizzie Whetstone, Mark Ross, Erika Harris, Jill Aldrich, Rich Aldrich, Alva Nishimura, Satoshi Nakayama, Madeline West, Sydney Ogilvie, Susan Joyner, Gerald Quintua, Heidi Garman 

Cultural Presentation by Heidi Garman

Growing Chrysanthemum Organically 

Soil Amendments:

1) Extra Perlite-for good drainage

2) Black Gold regular potting soil or M&R mix

3) Compost sterilized from Cedar Grove or Rabbit Compost

4) Peat Moss

5) Dolomite Lime- just a small amount to add calcium and magnesium

6) Langbeinite- naturally occurring marine deposit that is high in Potassium , Magnesium, Sulfur, and Oxygen. It’s a slow release fertilizer that does not burn plants, change the soil PH, or increase soluble salts in the soil

7) Greensand- is Fossil Rich Marine Sediments that are high in Iron, Potassium, Silicate and charged particles to facilitate CEC or Cation Exchange Properties. The Silica in the Greensand has many benefits to plants including increased immunity and helps with Nitrogen uptake. The Potassium in the Greensand causes the green color

8) Azomite- Comes from Ancient Volcanic Rocks and is high in Minerals and Rare Earth Elements. Doesn’t raise or lower PH.

Fertilizers

Dr.Earth Bud and Bloom with Mycorrhizae

Osmocote-slow release DON’T OVER_DO IT! 

Alaska Fish Food, Small amounts of Club fertilizer

Any liquid Fertilizer with trace minerals like Foxfarm, DynaGrow, MaxSea, Dr. Earth liquid Rose Food Fungicides approved for Organic Gardening OMRI listed (Mix with non-chlorinated filtered or distilled water)

DefGaurd Biofungicide- controls powdery mildew, botrytis, anthracnose, black mold, fruit rot leaf spot etc.

Serenade- Bayer Science OMRI approved naturally occurring soil bacterium that controls bacterial spot, powdery mildew, rust, gray mold, leaf blight scab etc. It’s easy to find at Ace Hardware, Walmart, Amazon etc.

Actinovate – uses Streptomyces Lydicus to kill fungus on the plants and in the roots. Must be mixed with filtered water or distilled water to use. Chlorine will kill the Streptomyces in it. Also make sure the product is not out of date

Neem Oil- antifungal anti-bug I use Einstein Oil and buy it on Amazon

Pesticides

Neem Oil

Azadiractin like AzaGaurd, Azera Gardening – order on Amazon

Business Meeting

1) Welcome our New members – Gerald Quintua, Bruce Fischer, Benjamin Bentler

2) Approved March meeting minutes 

3) Treasurers report presented by Sydney Ogilvie

May Balance $8444.81 

4) Old Business

a) April Plant Sale meeting recap

1) ECA members only

2) need a larger meeting space for plant sale meetings

3) consider changing  meeting format for plant sale meeting nights

a) Utilize Plant sale chairperson to organizes plants by classification and variety for plant sale meeting nights and assign seasoned grower to assist new growers in selecting plants

b) Public plant sale Recap – April 13, 2019 10 am to 2 pm 

  Positives

1) Price is right $3

2) Good public turnout

3) Good FB presence

People mentioned that they learned about the plant sale on FB

$50 spent advertising plant sale on FB   6381 people reached via FB

4) Good location

5) small boxes and bags for customers to carry plants were a good addition 

Challenges

1)  February weather 

a) Negatively impacted plant starts and plant sale planning

b) Fewer garden varietals than normal – due to lost plants

2)  Plant varietals and quantities vary from year to year –

we don’t really know what we have until the day of the plant sale

Improvements

1) Accept credit cards – $3.25 per plant?

2) Set up two checkouts – 2 people each

3) Create a plant selection list to be used at checkout

4) “WorkerBee” coupons reimbursable for plants 

5) ECA club business cards on hand with contact information

6) change plant sale times 9 am -1 pm

7) put membership sign up and how to grow instructions away from checkout area – stream line checkout

8) Erika found some small boxes on Amazon that we can purchase for 10 cents per box for next years’ plant sale

9) Plant sale chairperson – 

c) Missing Trophies – Best Bloom Non-Member, Best vase of 3 incurves, Garden Variety Challenge

Steve Joyner to research

d) Relating trophies – Heidi Garman to research

New Business

a) New member coaching assignments – coaching contact information distributed to new members

b) Interest in ECA shirts – Steve Joyner researching this

EVERGREEN CHRYSANTHEMUM ASSOCIATION
Seattle, Washington
ECAMumClub.org
Email us at: steve at ecamumclub dot org

HAPPY SPRING !

MEETING OF THE ECA – THURSDAY MAY 9th, 2019 at 7 PM at the Seattle Police Athletic Association Office (SPAA) site; 11030 East Marginal Way South, Tukwila. We meeting the small south class room on the right of the driveway.

Dues for 2019
“Last call – fair warning”. Please pay up, if this has not been done yet, or you cannot enter your blooms in our show in November.

PLANT CULTURE and SUPPLIES

The following supplies will be available at the May ECA meeting:

M&R mix

Early Season fertilizer

Late season Fertilizer

Plant tags

Plant starts

Cultural presentation:  Heidi Garman will share information about her growing process.  She gardens using organic fertilizers and pesticides.  Other cultural topics will include soil composition, potting-up & stopping dates 

Please bring any left over plants to the May Meeting as some members may still want some cultivars.

Mintues from the April Meeting:

In attendance:  

Cultural Presentation

Business Meeting

1) Approve and Second the January meeting minutes – No February meeting and No March minutes

2) Treasurers report by Sydney Ogilvie

Balance – $6144.75

3) Old Business

a) Satellite North Update – Steve Joyner

In contact with Jan Hunt – nothing new to report

c) Missing Trophies – Best Bloom Non-Member, Best vase of 3 incurves, Garden Variety Challenge

Steve Joyner to look into options

Heidi Garmen suggested replating the trophies

d)  FB administrator changed from Kris Stevens to Sue Joyner advertising on FB page

e) Public plant sale – April 13, 2019 10 am to 2 pm 

  i) postcards were mailed, Facebook promotions on ECA website were updated weekly, 

VPC promotion was created; advertising in the newspaper 

ii) Cube is to be delivered to Mark Ross’s address on Friday at 8 pm

iii) Public plant sale prices $3.00 cash, $3.50 with Credit card

iv) meet at VPC on Friday at 10 am to set up for plant sale – bring your starts

v) clean up after plant sale – Ron to take any remaining starts

New Business

ECA Polo Shirts – any interest?  – Steve Joyner to look into options

EVERGREEN CHRYSANTHEMUM ASSOCIATION
Seattle, Washington
ECAMumClub.org
http://ecamumclub.org/

HAPPY EASTER!!

DUES
If you have NOT paid your dues, please do!! Our Treasurer is Sydney Ogilve – please contact her if you cannot make the meeting on 4-11-2019.

Our NEXT MEETING OF THE ECA IS OUR MEMBER PLANT SALE!!! IMPORTANT!!!!
Please note that our April Meeting is Thursday, April 11th at Seattle Police Athletic Association. For directions, please click on the ABOUT ECA tab above. We are now meeting in the South Class Room. This meeting is important as we prepare final details for our Annual Plant sale on Saturday, April 13th. Please bring plants to the April 11th meeting for sale to members. Please note that NOVICES have first preference for plants – Novices please have your coaches help you select plants. Members are reminded to bring in their extra plants for our member plant sale and the public sale. Only healthy looking plants are accepted for the “Sales Events”. For those bringing in plants, please 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.

A huge THANK YOU to our tireless & more prolific growers who have been providing so many plants for so many years to benefit our club. This is how we fund our activites.

We will have a large variety of cultivars for sale at our Annual Plant Sale, Saturday, April 13th between 10 am and 2 pm at the lower greenhouse at Volunteer Park Conservatory.  ADDRESS: 1400 E Galer St, Seattle, WA 98112
Cultivars include Incurves, Reflexes, Pompons, Spiders, Large and Medium exhibitions, Charms, Anemones and Hardy Garden.
We invite you to join the Evergreen Chrysanthemum Association and learn to grow these magnificent flowers. 
We have every level of growers from those who are very new to this gardening hobby to members who have grown Chrysanthemums for over 40 years! Our club meets the second Thursday every month from 7 pm to 9 pm at the Seattle Police Athletic Association. Growing instruction and coaching is provided at every meeting. Come grow with us!

Remember to bring your plants in to Volunteer Park Conservatory and help with set up on Friday, April 12th starting at 1 P.M. The Saturday, April 13th public plant sale will be held from 10 A.M. to-2 P.M.

Club Library/Publications Notices Notes

Mark Ross is our Club Librarian. 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.