THE FLOEAL WOULD AND GAKDEN GUIDE. 



197 



"When the flowering season is over, the plants should be re- 

 moved from the conservatory or greenhouse at once. They gam 

 nothing by remaining there but an accumulation of insects, and so 

 much time is lost. Eemember that the later the plants are kept 

 indoors, the later will be the wood before it is sufficiently ripe for 

 them to be cut down; and this will throw you behindhand through- 

 out the whole affair, ending, most probably, in the spring with a crop 

 of badly-grown plants. The specimens that have flowered should be 

 placed in a shady position for a few days after their removal to the 

 open air ; the foot of a north wall or hedge is a capital place ; if they 

 are removed from the greenhouse direct into an open position, with 

 a full exposure to the sun, they will be nearly scorched up, for pelar- 

 goniums are ill adapted for bearing strong sunshine after they have 

 been indoors and shaded, for the purpose of keeping them in bloom 

 as long as possible. My plan is to place the plants in a shady 

 position for a week, and then expose them to the full light for a 

 fortnight afterwards, and by that time, if they have no more water 

 than is sufficient to keep them from flagging, they will be ready for 

 cutting down. Water should be withheld a sufficient length of 

 time for tlie soil to get quite dry by the time this is done, for it will 

 be found that if the plants are thoroughly dry when they are pruned, 

 ^nd have been so a few days previous, they will not suffer from 

 bleeding, and you can depend upon them breaking regularly ; and 

 the cuttings made from this kind of wood are less likely to damp off 

 than green shoots full of sap. 



I shall now leave the old plants, and turn to the cuttings, and 

 we can go into the winter management when we have conducted the 

 young plant through the first" year of its existence. Supposing 

 every cutting is wanted that can be had, the ripe shoots can be cut 

 np into short lengths, with two eyes each — one for inserting in the 

 -soil, and the other to be just above the surface. The growing 

 points, if they are not too soft, will make plants ; but when the 

 cuttings are plentiful, I select the stout growths that are thoroughly 

 matured, and cut them up in lengths of about three or four inches, 

 with a young side-shoot at the top of each length ; and I find that 

 these can be depended upon for rooting quickly, and soon making 

 nice plants. The hollow joint should be cut close under the eye, 

 and the bottom leaf removed ; but it is best to leave all the others 

 dntact, though they generally fall off before the cuttings are ready 

 for potting. This "is of no consequence, so long as they are removed 

 when this takes place, and not allowed to remain and lay about on 

 the surface of the pots to rot the cuttings. As soon as the cuttmgs 

 -are prepared, proceed to get the pots ready, by giving them a good 

 drainage in the bottom, and then filling up the remainmg space 

 with light sandy soil, such as a mixture of loam, leaf-mould, and 

 silver sand, and finally a layer of sand on the surface, about half an 

 inch in depth. For the top layer I use the sand dry, and I find it 

 •acts as a preservative in assisting the cuts to heal up quickly. 

 After the cuttings are inserted, the pots should have a light sprmkle 

 of water, just enough to settle the sand in its proper place. Some 

 growers recommend bottom-heat for striking these cuttmgs, but it 



