Cultivation description Blooming Beauty®
General information
The Blooming Beauty® series heralds the development of a new segment
within the chrysanthemum product. The series was especially bred for
production in packs and in small pots. The Blooming Beauty® varieties are
by nature compact, develop full plants and have a long shelf life. These
varieties are exceedingly suitable for use on the patio, balcony or in the
garden.
Blooming Beauty® chrysanthemums are short day plants. The series is
suitable for greenhouse production. For early flowering, this can be started
from week 7 until week 36 for late flowering (under Western European
weather conditions).
The Blooming Beauty® series consists of five striking colours:
1. Blooming Beauty® yellow
2. Blooming Beauty® white
3. Blooming Beauty® purple
4. Blooming Beauty® bronze
5. Blooming Beauty® red
Starting material
The Blooming Beauty® varieties are delivered as unrooted cuttings in units
of 250 pieces per variety. Cuttings are picked at a length of 3 to 4 cm. The
unrooted cuttings have already been treated with a rooting hormone.
Pot size
The Blooming Beauty® series was especially developed for production in
various pack sizes and/or small pots. Furthermore, at a later stage when
used by the consumer, the product is also suitable for balcony boxes.
Potting up
For cultivation of Blooming Beauty® you are advised to use a standard pot
chrysanthemum substrate with possibly 10 to 25% clay (4 kg lime per m3).
You can also decide on having 2 - 4 kg Osmocote or 1 - 2 kg PG multimix
(12-14-24) per m³ added. Always plant one single plant per pot/cell; deep
planting is recommended and even planting with the odd leaf underground
is no problem. Water sufficiently after planting, making sure that the
compost is saturated right to the bottom of the pot.
Pinching
One of the main advantages of the Blooming Beauty® series is that there is
no need for pinching. The different varieties branch well by nature.
Short/Long day
The production period of Blooming Beauty® depends on the desired plant
size and time of year. The long day period usually varies between 0 and 10
days. The short day period (reaction time) is equal to the number of days
between the start of the blackout period and flowering stage 1 (flower bud
shows colour). This is around 45 days. Under optimum conditions, it is
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possible to stick immediately in the short day. In that case, the production
period is about 52 days and equal to the reaction time of the varieties. The
reason for this being that the hormone that induces bud formation during
the callus formation and early root development, has not been activated
yet.
Climate
In case of an early culture, the heating temperature should be kept
between 14 - 16º C. Automatic ventilation should be set to 18º C with a 6º
C increase by means of light-dependent temperature control. Make sure
that RH (relative humidity) does not exceed 90%.
Growth regulators
Alar or Dazide is used by way of growth regulator. The degree of growth
regulation strongly depends on the chosen production method. The plants
of the Blooming Beauty® series are compact by nature. Therefore, growth
regulation is hardly or not at all required. Using growth regulator at a late
stage may cause flowers to discolour.
Fertilization
During the first two water sessions after potting up, you should only use
clean water. In the first cultivation phase, the potash-nitrogen ratio should
be 1-2 with an EC of up to 2.0. In the second cultivation phase, the potashnitrogen ratio should be 1-1 with an EC of up to 1.5. Magnesium is also
important. In order to achieve the optimum growing method, it is advisable
to take an extra potting compost sample during cultivation.
Target values for fertilization of ’Blooming Beauty®:
EC
PH
NH4
K
Na
Appro
Mg
x.
1.0
5.8
<0.1
3.8
<1.0
2.1
0.9
SO4
1.0
HCO3
0.5
P
0.5
Fe
8.0
Mn
2.0
Zn
2.0
B
15
NO3
Cl
6.0
<1.0
Cu
0.7
Lighting
Please note, in case of an early cultivation start and planting before 1 May,
the crop needs artificial light. This can be achieved using cyclic lighting, in
cycles of 7.5 minutes per 30 minutes and at 15 watt per m². Start lighting
two hours after dusk and cease this three hours before daylight.
Blackout
Between 15 April and 15 September (on average) there is need for a
blackout period. This lasts 13 hours per day, e.g. from 18.00 hrs until 7.00
hrs. In case of a prolonged period with higher temperatures of 28ºC under
the screen, it is advisable to start the blackout later, e.g. 19.30 hrs until
8.30 hrs.
Crop protection
The plants in the Blooming Beauty® series could be affected by the
following pests and diseases:
Thrips, aphids, miners and to a lesser degree whitefly and caterpillars.
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For an up-to-date state of affairs regarding the agents to be used in your
market, we advise you to contact your cultivation advisor or supplier of crop
protection agents. Hang signal plates over the crop in order to get an idea
of the infection pressure.
In conclusion
The Blooming Beauty® series stands out because of its very controllable
cultivation and it being highly appreciated by consumers. Royal Van Zanten
wishes you every success in the cultivation of Blooming Beauty®. This
cultivation description is only intended for your information. Royal Van
Zanten cannot be held responsible for any problems resulting from said
advice.
More information:
Royal Van Zanten / Van Zanten Cuttings B.V.
Rijshornstraat 205, 1435 HH Rijsenhout
The Netherlands
Telephone:
Fax:
+31 (0) 297 389 600
+31 (0) 297 389 610
sales.potbedding@royalvanzanten.com
www.royalvanzanten.com
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