Anemone Centred Chrysanthemums in New Zealand

by Tom Mechen Patron NZNCS,  
Palmerston North New Zealand 
September 2006 

All set to try my hand
So having in mind the precedent that had been successfully set by these two great N.C.S. personalities and receiving encouragement and guidance from an exceptionally fine article written by Dr. Allen Langton of, Glasshouse Crops Research Institute, Littlehampton, West Sussex entitled 'Techniques of Chrysanthemum Breeding' and published in the 1976 U.K. National Chrysanthemum Society's year book, I was all set to try my hand with Anemones to see if by my intervention, something wonderful could be made to happen. I had already discovered that the blooms on 'Claudette', which I believe was of Australian origin and was a several times champion of this section in New Zealand, produced an absolute abundance of pollen, so I duly selected flower heads from one or two top cultivars to trim back in preparation to receive some of this magical substance and a day later carefully made this application. Two months later I was delighted to find that a small number of seeds had ripened. These were stored away in a warm dry place till springtime. 

Germination I determined that I would germinate these, as recommended in the article mentioned, by setting them out on plastic screw top jam jar lids laid flat side up and covered with filter paper overlaid with muslin, a rubber band round the edge keeping this in place. The filter paper retaining moisture evenly by wick action from the water in the tray in which the lids have been placed. This tray had a plastic cover thereby providing ideal humidity at room temperature. This I did very successfully and pricked them off later into seed trays of prepared seed raising mix. I found this so successful that I have never employed any alternative method for chrysanthemum seed germination since that time.

Initial success!
When large enough, seedlings were planted out in open ground to grow on to maturity. At flowering time, one of the seedlings resulting from the cross made with Bridgette, a lovely pink anemone of Dutch origin, produced a bloom, light mauve pink in shade, that appeared to have all the attributes required for it to become a future winner. This flower which was to win Champion Anemone award the next year at the N.Z.N.C.S. Convention Show held in Kapiti, which I named Dorothy Mechen, gave me the incentive to continue and every year since then, beside growing for show as usual, I have managed to maintain a modest hybridisation programme which within the first three years of experimentation had made quite a difference to cultivar numbers. 

Radiation treatment To kick start this rejuvenation I was fortunate enough in 1981 to be able to organise radiation treatment to effect colour changes on a number of plants of Dorothy Mechen and within two years there were six distinct Dorothy's on offer. There was Dorothy Mechen, Cameo, Lilac, Sunburst, Reward, and Light Yellow. I was also fortunate to have Edith Mechen (outstanding record of successes since that time) show up as a seedling in 1981 and Adrienne Mechen (white ray florets lilac centre) show up as a seedling the following year. The advent of these cultivars and the prospect of further introductions by means of hybridisation ensured a bright future for this section which was to provide some outstanding

competitive displays as the cultivar numbers increased and the section became extremely popular with the enthusiastic growers and the viewing public alike.

Of the 60 Anemones raised so far through this programme only about half are still being grown as far as I know. However cultivars such as Cloverlea Classic, Mainland Miss and First Light which were good cultivars but flowered too early for me under natural conditions, and were sent away for trial in other areas could be still flourishing somewhere unbeknown to me. Once the new seedlings have been grown the second year and approved by the classification committee they are then freely available to any enthusiast wishing to grow them for show who are prepared to pay cost of postage etc. 

Selection for trials
Only a very small percentage of the seedlings raised each year are selected for further trial and assessment from the large numbers that have been nursed through from the initial time of pollen application that become seeds which become seedlings and it is these small few that become the rare plants bearing the rare blooms of great potential that justifies the time and effort involved that lights up our life at those wonderful times of epiphany. 

Flourishing on the show bench
Flourishing in response to the steady increase in cultivar numbers since the 1980's the Anemone, gathering momentum with each passing season, was soon to be seen as equalling and in some cases even surpassing Singles and Fantasies in the number of blooms tabled at many of the shows and exhibitions held each year throughout the country. People seemed to have always loved it, enjoyed growing it and seeing it on display and in a relatively short number of years, with a broadening selection of cultivars so readily available to the growers it has assumed a prestige and importance in the scheme of things Chrysanthemum in New Zealand that a few years previously had certainly been undreamed of. 

Controlling height Generally Anemones do not present very many problems to the grower although there are a few quite tall cultivars that need to be firmly cut back during the stopping process or treated two or three times with Alar (B Nine) to limit the length of lateral growth during development. Alar seems to be a very beneficial substance which induces stronger and sturdier growth on most treated cultivars. Elongation of the neck once the bud has been secured leaving the bloom with a bare length of stem and no complementary foliage also occurs on some cultivars given certain conditions and can be overcome on any cultivar by application of Alar a few days prior to securing the bud. Only the top portion of the plant needs to be sprayed for this to take effect.

My situation on this planet is at just over 40° latitude in the southern hemisphere enjoying what is classed as a moderate climate. Anemone cuttings are rooted in sharp river sand and transferred to small planter bags to allow roots to establish further, then they are planted out first week in November into rings in an uncovered frame where they grow on to maturity. Covers are erected around about mid March. 

Stopping technique
The plants are given two stops and with the first stop the plant is taken back by 1/3rd of it's height to ensure even branching. The time of stopping of course varies according to geographical situation and the response group category of the individual cultivar being processed. That is why my second stopping varies, beginning from the third week of December on into the second week of January to time the blooms to reach maturity around about the 25th April a close approximate date of the New Zealand North Island National Show each year. 

Allow six or sevens blooms per plant
Many growers limit their plants to carry four or five blooms but a well grown plant should carry six or seven quality blooms and give the grower two good vases of three for exhibition purposes. As the flowers are reaching maturity supports similar to those used on exhibition singles to protect the ray florets is a good idea to avoid accidental damage when working near or around the plant. Polystyrene I find is excellent. Can be held up under the flower by a spring peg attached to the stem. Some rubber foam first wrapped around the stem before the peg is applied is a wise precaution . 

This article is reprinted with kind permission from the author Tom Mechen 
and The National Chrysanthemum Society, N.Z.