Agriculture Report - Tips for Raising Mums

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VOA Learning English, this is the Agriculture Report in English. People have been growing chrysanthemums for more than years. Mums make bright and colorful gardens. People in and other Asian cultures make tea with the flowers. Puccini, the great Italian composer, even named one of works after chrysanthemums, ".Crisantemi." One basic kind of mum the hardy or garden mum. The other basic kind the florist mum. The garden mum is better able handle different growing conditions. The decorative mum is often in gardens. Another popular type, the quill mum, has , straight petals like a tube or needle. Chrysanthemum blooms be white, yellow, gold, red or other colors. Many the plants grow to one meter high. The soil chrysanthemums should be kept moist but well drained. Mums best in full sunlight. They produce colorful blooms when get shorter and nights get longer. The life cycle the plant depends on the amount of daylight. This why experts advise against placing mums near nightlights or . The light may interfere with their normal growth cycle. a result, the plants may develop buds too soon. climates where temperatures fall below freezing, plant mums at six weeks before the first frost is expected. That , the plants will be well established for cold weather. get more blooms, pinch back the branches when new has reached 15 centimeters. Squeeze about five to seven off each branch. Pinch it again when a branch another 12 to 15 centimeters. Stop the pinching about days before you want the plants to bloom. For Learning English, I'm Carolyn Presutti. (Adapted from a radio broadcast 19Feb2013)

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