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CUT FLOWERS ARRANGED IN A COLORFUL DISPLAY FOR THEPIT; - PRF EXHIBIT AT THE PENNSYLVANIA FARM SHOW.

A FLOWERW GROWERS

BULLETIN 134 MARCH, 1962

PENNSYLVANIA FLOWER GROWERS

BULLETIN

P.O. Box 652

CONTENTS

Page

CARNATION BUDS 1

FARM SHOW EXHIBIT 2

PLANT DISEASES 4

RESEARCH FUND CONTRIBUTORS 5

NEWS FROM PENN STATE 6

NEWS FROM S. A. F 7

FLOWER JUDGING TEAM 8

NEWS FROM PFG MEMBERS 9

PENNSYLVANIA FLOWER GROWERS

Bulletin 134 March, 1962

Published monthly at 907 Glenn Circle South, StateCollege, Pennsylvania, by the Pennsylvania FlowerGrowers, 1413 Pelham Road, Windsor Farms, R.D. 2.Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Entered as second classmatter, postage paid at State College, Pennsylvania.Subscription rates: active members - $5.00 per year;all other subscriptions - $10.00 per year. Send allcommunications to the Publications Office or to theExecutive Secretary, P. O. Box 652, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.

OFFICERS

PRESIDENT HERMAN HELLBERGPeter Hellberg Co., Chalfont, Pa.

V. PRESIDENT ARNOLD WAGNERBox 180, Bloomsburg, Pa.

TREASURER AND EXECUTIVESECRETARY GLENN A. MARBURGER

1413 Pelham Rd., Windsor Farms,R. D. 2, Harrisburg, Pa.

EDITOR JOHN W. MASTALERZ907 Glenn Circle South, State College, Pa.

Second Class Postage Paid at State College, Pa.

Harrisburg, Pa.

THE

PRESIDENT'S CORNER

Herman Hellberg

The action taken by the P.F.G. Executive Committee at thelast directors' meeting makes me proud to be a member of theP.F.G. and especially privileged to be President of such an organization. The action I am referring to pertains to the lettersent to all grower members of the P.F.G.

The Department of Labor and Industry has attempted topartially divorce Floriculture from agriculture by assuming thatgrowers are subject to the wage and hour laws as they pertainto women and children. Some of the growers have already beencited and this was brought to the attention of the executive Committee. After making plans to oppose this attempt of the Department of Labor and Industry, the Executive Committee tookthe action that I referred to earlier.

The Executive Committee voted to attend, in a body, anyfuture hearings on this subject whether it be a general hearingor that of any particular grower cited, and representing theFloriculture Industry of Pennsylvania to protest this action of theDepartment of Labor and Industry. This means that these men,all of whom are busy with their own businesses, have voted totake the time to help their fellow growers in the state combatsomething that may have far reaching effects on our industry.I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate the Executive Committee for this action and I am proud to be countedamong them.

C

CARNATION BUD CRIPPLING and SHRIVELINGJohn W. White

Penn State University

SYMPTOMS

Do you on occasion find carnation buds or flowersthat tend to stop midway in their development andshrivel up and die? What causes this to occur, usuallyonly in random spots or at certain times of the year?The accompanying photographs, Figures 1, 2 and 3,should help answer these questions for many of theseoccurances.

Figure 1: Normal Flower — Flower showing effects ofmechanical injury.

Figure 1 shows a normal flower on the left anda shriveled flower of the same age and variety on theriglit. In Figure 2 are seen five carnation buds whichare partially open with the center bud being normal,while the two buds to either side of it are either crippled or shriveled. Take a close look at the bud to theimmediate right of the center bud and observe; thelacerated section of stem immediately under the calyx.A close up of this bud may be seen in Figure 3.

Figure 2: Carnation Buds of similar age showing Calyx andPetal Drying — Crippling — Normal — Shriveled- Partial Crippling.

Figure 3: Shriveled Bud from Fig. 2 showing laceration ofStem from axillary hud and leaf removal.

EXPLANATION

This lacerated area of the stem was at one timethe site of a small leaf and an axillary bud. Severalweeks previous to tin's photograph this flowering stemwas disbudded, and in the process of removing theupper-most axillary bud the small leaf was removed.The accidental removal of this leaf in turn left tin'slacerated section. Figure 3 shows an example of arather extreme case while in Figure 1 both buds to theleft of center and the bud to the far right are moretypical. In the case of those buds, as well as the flowerto the right in Figure 1, the axillary bud was removedand the small uppermost leaf was broken, but not removed completely as was illustrated in Figure 2. Asa result of this leaf being injured at its base, one ofseveral things can happen. It may heal completely andthe flower develop normally, Figure 1, flower on theleft; or it may heal partially and go unnoticed untilthe bud begins to expand or the flower to open, Figure1, flower on the right. At this time, the demand by thebuds or flowers lor water and food materials outstripsthe stems ability to supply these materials. If this

(Continued on page 7)

FARM SHOW EXHIBIT-1962A BIG SUCCESS

Combining their efforts and floor space, the Pennsylvania Flower Growers and the Pennsylvania RetailFlorists produced a very successful exhibit at the FarmShow during January, (Cover Photo and Figure 1 onthis page). Each year, the flower exhibit continues toattract large numbers of the more than 500,000 visitorsto the Farm Show.

As they did last year, Harry Erclman, retired director of horticulture for the Hershey Estates, and SamSimon, Harrisburg Wholesale Co., served as Co-Chair-men for the growers and Carl Sallade of Reading wasChairman lor the retailers. Joe Johnston, Jr. of Mc-Keesport coordinated activities between the two organizations and was responsible lor securing the cutflowers, plants and florist supplies. All of these materials were donated for the Farm Show exhibit. Costs

and profits will be shared equally by each organization.

Harry Erdman was retained by the growers andretailers to manage the exhibit. lie worked long andhard and lived the Farm Show Exhibit during theentire week. He has indicated that this will be his

last year; but we hope not, lor both organizations willsurely miss him.

The work on the exhibit and the corsage, flowerand plant sales began on Sunday, January 7. Fourstudents and Dr. Pfahl from Penn State, a large number of retail florists, several growers joined forces tostage the exhibit, assemble the corsages, arrange thecut flowers, and distribute the large number of poin-

Carl Sallade directs design and selling efforts of retail llorists.

(Photos courtesy Pa. Agricultural Extension ServiceJim Ratlunell and Alci Voigt, Photographers).

The portion of the PFC-PRF Farm Show Exhibit in whichplants were displayed.

settia plants throughout the Farm Show Building. JimRathmell worked with Carl Sallade and Harry Erdmanat the Farm Show Booth while Joe Johnston, MartyYeatman and others prepared corsages at the Harrisburg Wholsesale Florists.

Sunday evening, the Farm Show opened with atour of the Exhibits by the Governor and his wile. Inthe Governor's party were Dr. and Mrs. Henning,Secretary of Agriculture. Boutonnieres and corsages,prepared by the florists, were presented to all membersof the Governor's group.

Several people deserve special recognition fortheir time and effort in making the PFG-PRF FarmShow Exhibit a success:

Mr. and Mrs. Sam Simon for devoting their facilities, their daily help at the booth, and for their hospitality to the members who worked in setting up theexhibit.

Harry Stephenson, of Shiremanstown, for providing the services of two men daily to water and carefor the plants and (lowers in the Farm Show Building.His greenhouses were used to store plants.

The retailers who devoted their time away fromtheir shops to man the booth throughout the week.

To the growers and suppliers who donated theflowers, plants and materials used in the exhibit andfor sales throughout the week.

The following Growers, Retailers,

Wholesalers, and Suppliers contributed generously to the success of the

PFG - PRF Farm Show Exhibit.

Carnation Buds—(Continued from page 1)

occurs, either the bud or the flower petals will becomesoft, may appear water soaked, and if left on the plantwill eventually turn brown and crisp. Whether thisoccurs at the bud stage or at some later point duringflower development will depend on the severity ofinjury and will be influenced by the weather and theavailable moisture supply in the soil.

Besides the strictly mechanical affect on the plantthat can occur from the injury of this small upper leaf,two other effects can develop from this situation:(1) Growth hormones moving through the plant canbuild up on the side of the stem opposite the injuryand cause the flower to grow in that direction, as seenin Figure 1, the bud to the immediate left of the center bud. (2) Disease organisms have ample opportunity to invade the plant through this wound andtherefore may increase the chances of injury or ofarresting the flower development.

Sometimes after the flower or bud tissue have begun to collapse disease organisms will move in as secondary invaders and appear to be the initial causes ofthe bud or flower shriveling. It would be difficult inmost cases to discern which occurred first the collapseor the disease.

SOLUTION

The solution to this whole problem is quite simple;re-educate your help or whoever is doing the disbudding. Caution them on the need for more carefulhandling of the flowers. It seems a shame to put timeand money into growing a plant for three to fourmonths only to have someone in a hurry to get a coffeebreak or eat lunch, destroy the product, and even moreironic if you realize you may not know about the injury for several more weeks. I should think every carnation grower knows how to disbud carnations properly, therefore I will not insult your intelligence bydescribing in flowering words or photographs thistechnique; but maybe it has been a while since youchecked with your help on their technique or havehired someone new who isn't cognizant of the abovesituation and the damage which follows.

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News from S. A. F.Freezing damage to flower shipments has been

heavy this year, but the Society of American Floristsis successfully collecting such losses for industrymenthrough its Loss and Damage Claim Collection Plan.Substantial savings have been gained by participantsin the Plan, particularly on claims which have beenreferred before declination on the part of the carrier.

Participants pay only a reasonable fee if they arepaid for their losses and there is no fee if the Societyis unable to collect the claim. The fee for SAF non-

members is 5 per cent higher and the minimum non-member fee is $1 per claim.

Cecil Callison, Chairman of SAF's Traffic Committee, lists the following suggestions to help floristsprotect themselves from shipping losses during freezing weather: (1) Use adequate wrapping to protectthe shipment from frost injury; (2) Declare the propervalues to protect the full value of the shipment; (3)Notify the delivering carrier immediately in case ofdamage and obtain a written inspection report; and(4) Use SAF transmittal claim forms to submit claimson losses. Claim forms and full information on the

Loss and Damage Claim Collection Program can beobtained from the Society of American Florists, Sheraton-Park Hotel, Washington 8, D. C.

"Florists may have money coming to them thatthey don't even know about," claims Cecil Callison,Chairman, Traffic Committee, Society of AmericanFlorists. "It's easy to be overcharged on shippingrates without being aware of it."

Mr. Callison points out that only through expertfreight bill auditing can florists be sure they have beenbilled for the least expensive rates for a particularshipment. The Society of American Florists is returning this money for overpayment to those who are taking advantage of the SAF Freight Bill Auditing Program.

The service covers all freight bills. The fee is 50per cent of the amount collected — no collection, nocharge. The fee for SAF non-members is 5 per centhigher.

"Florists have nothing to lose except the postageto mail back freight bills," says Mr. Callison. Industrymen have a chance to recover overpayments fora period of three years since the statute for recoveryof overpayments is three years from the date of payment of the charges.

Those wishing to avail themselves of this newSAF service should send their freight bills for the pastthree years directly to: Society of American FloristsTraffic Department, 99 Hudson Street, New York, NewYork. They will be audited and returned within aperiod of one month.

— 7 —

Students Try Out for Judging TeamPeter B. Pfahl

Penn State UniversityTen Penn State Floriculture and Ornamental

Horticulture students are meeting two nights a weekto compete for a team of four students who will go tothe National Intercollegiate Flower Judging Contest.This Contest is sponsored annually by the Society ofAmerican Florists and Pi Alpha Xi, National Floriculture Honorary Society, and will be held this year onApril 6th at the University of Maryland. Materialswhich will be judged include: several varieties ofRoses, Carnations, Snapdragons, Stocks, Iris, Gladiolus, Pompons, Standards, and Daffodils. Potted plantsto be judged include Azaleas, African Violets, Hydrangeas, Gardenias, Gloxinia, and Foliage Plants.

Only three of the students come from Horticultural families which include one fruit grower and twoflower growers. It is remarkable that the other sevenhave acquired a desire for floriculture and ornamentalhorticulture more on their own than through anyfamily relationships. Four of the following ten students will be chosen to represent Penn State at theContest in April: Ronald Bracciante, Elmont, N. Y.;David Buresch, Pittsburgh; Richard Criley, Elizabeth-town; Michael Fitzgibbons, Philipsburg; Anne Lott,Aspers; Elaine McGary, Richboro; Jarrold Manning,Ruffsdale; John Novy, Courtdale; Charles Salisbury;and John Treese, Pittsburgh.

The Contest provides not only knowledge for students in learning how to judge the quality of flowers,but also presents the opportunity for them to meet theUniversity leaders in floriculture as well as studentsfrom other institutions majoring in floriculture andornamental horticulture.

Penn State Flower Judging TeamIn Every Contest Since 1947

Penn State students have had a team in eighteenout of twenty National Intercollegiate Flower JudgingContests which started in 1938 and have been heldannually except for the war years. Only Ohio Statehas beaten this record with a total of nineteen contests attended.

Since the present coach took over in 1949 the

Penn State team has been in the prize money (topthree awards) in six out of thirteen contests. Theywon the George Asmus cup for first prize in 1949 and1957; came in second in 1956, 1960, and 1961; andwere third in 1952. Last year's second place team lostto Ohio State by only 5 points out of 4500. The teamconsists of three members plus an alternate. Lastyear's contest was in Pullman, Washington.

Orginally the contests were held in conjunctionwith the National Flower Show. Since the discontinuance of that function, the contests have been heldat a University Campus wherever a floriculture curriculum is available.

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