September 2004 The Shoreline Page 9
Fall Gardening, Part 2
By Karen Neill, NCSU Agriculture Extension
Nothing says Fall to me like chrysanthemums or
“mums”. I love those red, yellow and bronze hues, they
are the true colors of fall. There are numerous varieties
of mums available today that if selected carefully will
bloom from late summer through the entire Fall. You
can also find mums in intense lavendar to the purest of
white. In fact, many new varieties of chrysanthemums
are being developed each year which differ greatly from
their common ancestors in color, size and form. The
form can vary tremendously from the more common
decorative (a flattened full bloom -large to medium
large blooms), pompon (mass of small-blooms, small
miniature buttons to large ball shaped flowers) and
anemone (daisy-like spray but with a more pronounced
center) to the more exotic like the spoon (a daisy-like
flower with spoon-like ends to florets) or the spider (the
most exotic with thin threadlike florets, tubular ends are
coiled).
The genus chrysanthemum belongs to the daisy fam
ily and consists of more than two hundred species
including annuals, perennials and small shrubs. Native
to the Far East, chrysanthemums became a part of
America’s floriculture in the late 1700’s when they
were first introduced. By the early 1900’s hardier vari
eties were being grown and the Korean hybrids were
introduced. It’s the Korean hybrids which are the breed
ing stock for much of today’s hardy chrysanthemums.
Garden mums, being well stocked by garden centers
now, are vigorous clump-type plants with strong, up
right or sprawling stems which can often become fairly
woody. There are many places where chrysanthemums
can be enjoyed in the garden. Because of their shallow
rooting habit, plants can be dug with a spading fork and
easily moved to new locations. This has a particular
advantage because mums can be grown for most of the
season in a sunny location, then after they have devel
oped flower buds, moved to partially shaded border
areas where they will come into full bloom. Those
potted mums you buy at garden centers this fall can be
transplanted to the garden where you can enjoy them for
years to come.
Chrysanthemums require well-drained soil, unlike
some of those areas I was working in my garden this past
weekend. Oh how I hate red clay. In areas like ours with
high clay, the addition of organic matter including
composted leaves, rotted manure compost or fine pine
bark mulch will improve the drainage and aeration.
Mums also need full sunlight to grow and bloom suc
cessfully. This means generally six hours of sunUght or
more each day during the summer period. Plants grown
with less light will become weak, spindly and produce
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few flowers. Plants also become tall and leggy when
they are not properly pinched.
Pinching is the removal of about an inch of the tip of
each branch or shoot. This is simply snapped out with
the thumb and index finger. The first pinching should be
done when the plant is 6 to 8 inches tall and repeated
when new branches become 6 inches tall. The timing of
the last pinch is the most critical. For early flowering
varieties which bloom in mid September the last pinch
should be around the middle of June. Varieties which
flower in early October should be pinched for the last
time the week of July 4th. Generally, about three months
is required between the last pinch and blooming.
After drainage has been improved and you’ve pur
chased just the right color, be careful to plant your
chrysanthemums at just the same depth at which they
were grown in their container. Chrysanthemums being
shallow rooted plants do best if planted high. Planting,
too deep will promote a lack of root aeration and root rot
caused by fungal pathogens. If planting several to create
quite a splash of color this fall, you’ll want to space them
about 18 inches apart. By avoiding overcrowding you
will help reduce the incidence of diseases such as leaf
spot and powdery mildew. It’s insects, however, that
can be more of a problem. Carefully examine your
mums before you purchase. Aphids are often brought
into the garden as hitchhikers. Other insects include
caterpillars and spider mites.
Mums will require fertilization several times during
the spring and summer to stimulate good growth, pro
duce thick stems and maintain a healthy green color.
You do not, however, need to fertilize those you are
setting out now although one of the root stimulating
fertilizers high in phosphorous may not be a bad idea. As
a general rule, chrysanthemums are not heavy feeders.
A diluted fertilizer,sseveral times before bud set is
really all you need. Too much nitrogen and you’ll get
lots of vegetative growth with very few flowers.
After the plants have flowered this Fall, you will want
to cut the stems close to the ground. Leaf, flower and
stem debris should be collected and -composted pro
vided they are not disease or insect injected. A layer of
mulch material should also be applied after planting.
Mulch will help conserve and regulate moisture to these
shallow rooted plants while at the same time preventing
beds from erosion compaction and helping to retard
weeds.
Chrysanthemums also do well planted in containers
and since I haven’t yet corrected my soggy soil situation
it looks like those I buy this weekend will be planted in
pots on the deck.
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Can You Place
The Place Names?
By Bill White
Who’s McNeil?
That’s the question that popped up last month when we
were preparing The Shoreline’s article on the dedication of
the new McNeil Inlet bridge. Just who, we asked ourselves,
were the inlet and the adjoining park named for? After a bit
of research, we came up with the conclusion that the inlet
and the park were named for George H. McNeil, an
attorney for the Roosevelt Family Partnership which
launched the development of Pine Knoll Shores. Further
more, we concluded, the other entrance to the Pine Knoll
Waterway, Hoffman Inlet, was named for Alice Green
Hoffman, wealthy New York socialite who once owned
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private
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much of Bogue Banks and who left her holdings to her
niece Eleanor, wife of Brigadier Gen. Theodore Roosevelt,
Jr.
Okay. But what about all the other place names associ
ated with Pine Knoll Shores. For instance, for whom was
Brock Basin named? Or Hall Haven, King’s Comer, Gar
ner Park, and Davis Landing.
Not to mention Hearth’s Cove, Morgan P. Hammer Park
and Hopper’s Hideaway.
We’ve done some more investigating and we think
we’ve come pretty close to identifying some of the others
who played a significant enough role in bringing Pine
Knoll Shores into being that they’ve had a piece of the real
estate named for them.
But we’d like to hear from you out there as to what you
know, or think you know. Some of the identifications are
easy, some obscure. If you have some thoughts on the
subject, we’d love to hear from you. E-mail your com
ments to us at: shoreline(§)townofpks.com
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