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JOUBNAL OF HOETICULTUEE AND COTTAGE GAEBENEE. 



[ Angost 13, 1883. 



I have allnded to it merely to observe that my visit will num- 

 ber amongst the most intereetinR I made during my happy 

 aogoiua in England. — Ferdinand Gloede, Beauvais, France. 



SELECT ZONAL, FANCY, AND FRENCH 

 PELARGONIUM'S, 



AND THEIR PROPAGATION. 



WoijLD you give me the names of eighteen distinot Zonal 

 and Variegated Zonal Pelargoniums for a greenhouse 12 feet 

 long and 8 feet wide ? The house being so small, I wish to 

 have in it the best selection I can, and to have each plant as 

 distinct as possible. 



I also wish for the names of sis or eight of the best distinct 

 Fancy and French Pelargoniums, together with directions as 

 to the time and mode of propagating them by cuttings. — J. L. 

 [We here publish " J. L.'s " letter and Mr. WiUs's answer, 

 because the conditions to which that answer applies being 

 known, it will be ueeful to many readers who desire similar 

 information. — Eds. ] 



Zonal Pelargoniums. — The following will be found to pos- 

 aess first-rate qualities, and are quite distinct : — 



Lord Derby. — Pine orange scarlet, a large, round, flat flower. 

 The best in commerce. 



Beante de Suresnen. — Bright rose ; large, handsome flowers, of 

 fine form and substance. 



The Banner (Wills). — The largest-flowered Zonal Pelargo- 

 nium in cultivation, fine scarlet ; good habit, and large truss. 



WilWs Maj/enta Queen. — Splendid, new in colour ; good for 

 bedding or greenhouses. 



r/»e Clipper. — Dazzling scarlet ; large and well-formed flower. 



Qiteen of Roses. — Very bright rose colour, of fine form. 



Beauty. — White, with rose centra; good habit, and very 

 free. 



To the above the following double varieties should be added. 

 No collection can be complete without them : — 



Madame Lemoine. — Neat dwarf habit ; flowers borne in large 

 trusses, very double, and of a beautiful peach colour. It 

 flowers quite as freely as Tom Thumb. This is undoubtedly a 

 great acquisition, and will be one of the plants most sought 

 after for conservatory decoration for several years to come. 



Triomplic de Thuvic.snil. — Rosy violet carmine, remarkably 

 lar^^e truss of compact double flowers ; habit good and very 

 free-flosvering. 



_ Triumph. — Fine scarlet flowers, double ; habit rather 

 vigorous. 



The new double Tom Thumb, Madame Rose Gliarmeux, is 

 also fine, and may be included in the above list. 



Vaeieoated Pelabooniums. — The following are sure to give 

 eatisfaction : — 



Florence (Wills).— A splendid Golden Variegated Zonal, 

 having a broad dark zone fringed with crimson and dark maroon. 



Litzie (Willf).— Bright yellow margin with a broad zone of 

 maroon, barred with crimson ; a very fine improvement on 

 Mrs. Pollock. Habit stout and vigorous. 



Lvctj Grieve. — One of the most beautiful ; finely-figured with 

 a brilliant surface zone of lake-tinted crimson upon an under 

 bronze zone. 



Sophia Dumaresqiic. — A beautiful variety with robust consti- 

 tution, habit vigorous and freely branching ; the golden margin 

 distinctly defined by a brilliant flame-tinted scarlet zone. 



Miss Burden Goults. — A beautiful Silver Tricolor with a good 

 habit, the best in this section. 



The following three Bronze and Gold varieties must cer- 

 tainly be called variegated, and should be included in every 

 collection— viz., Beauty of Ribbledalc, Beauty of Calderdale, 

 and Arthur II. Wills. 



Fancy and French PELARaoNiuMS. — The following eight are 

 best : — 



Charles Tamer, scarlet, with pure white centre, orange scarlet 

 upper petals, with shaded maroon blotch, very fine. 



Empress Eugenie. — Pure white with rose blotch, flower large. 

 A most beautiful variety. 



John Hoyle. — Large flower, light centre ; orange red, richly 

 marked with dark red, top petals rich velvety maroon. 



Perfection. — A light flower, pretty form ; pale violet pink, 

 white eye, with maroon blotch and neat rose margin. 



Pescatorei. — Bright salmon, light centre, with deep crimson 

 spots, very fine and free. 



Smyreis.— Ne.v large fringed-flowered, in the way of Dr. 

 Andr6 ; flowers beautiful clear white with a -sery large crimson 



blotch on the upper petals. One of the finest Pelargoniums 

 in cultivation. 



The next two are Fancies, and veiy distinct and pretty. 



Duchess of Buccleuch. — Delicate lilac, with white throat and 

 edges, fine form and habit. 



Effie Z)ea;i«.— Bright crimson, painted white centre, very 

 pretty. 



The present is a very good time to propagate the Fancy and 

 French Pelargoniums if the wood is ripe. The best mode is 

 to prick the cuttings out in the open ground, or if there are 

 any spare hand-glasses these may be placed over the cuttings. 

 Any ordinary garden soil will answer for them, and as soon aa 

 the cuttings have struck they should at once be taken up, potted 

 singly in small 60-pots, placed in a frame, and kept close for 

 a few days. They will then soon commence rooting very freely. 

 They should be kept in pots of this size till the end of Decem- 

 ber, when they should be shaken out, potted again in pots of 

 the same size, and as the roots reach the sides of the pots the 

 plants should be shifted into larger ones. During this time 

 abundance of air must be given on all favourable occasions ; 

 and as the plants make their growth, and when the shoots have 

 four or five fully developed leaves, the point of each shoot 

 should be pinched out in order to keep the plants compact and 

 stocky. If it is desirable to have the plants in flower early, 

 they must not be stopped nor potted after the first week in 

 February, but should have a little weak manure water given 

 them once or twice a-week. This will cause them to throw up 

 strong flower trusses, and large and bright-coloured flowers. 



The spring, when the wood is young and green, is the best 

 and surest time to strike cuttings. Cuttings struck in the 

 spring also make the cleanest and best plants, especially il 

 they are required for specimen plants, or for flowering late in 

 the autumn months. If intended for the latter purpose the 

 growth should be encouraged, and just the same attention paid 

 to them as recommended above for the winter and spring treat- 

 ment of the autumn-struck cuttings. — J. Wills. 



SHRUBS TRANSPLANTED LATE IN THE 



SEASON. 



Those who planted large numbers of shrubs late in the spring 

 are likely to have much cause to complain of the season, as 

 their losses are serious ; whilst of the shrubs which do succeed 

 the growth is so indifierent that the season may be considered 

 as lost to them. A dry spring and hot summer, however fa- 

 vourable to many plants, are not so to newly planted shrubs ; 

 and as watering is at best but a poor substitute for showery 

 weather, and cannot always be practised, the appe&rance of 

 most subjects planted late in spring is far from good, especially 

 that of evergreens. These have seldom had the advantage of 

 a good night dew sines planting time. In some cases, how- 

 ever, they do not look amiss, and a few days ago some were 

 pointed out to me which had stood the trial tolerably well, but 

 care and attention had been bestowed on them. No great 

 amount of watering had been afforded, but one or two good 

 soakings had been given at the roots, and the ground was thickly 

 covered with moss, which was retained in its place by pebbles 

 thinly scattered over it, otherwise the birds disturb such cover- 

 ings very much. In addition, the foliage of the plants had 

 been often wetted over both morning and evening, using no 

 more water than just sufficient to accomplish the purpose. 

 With this treatment most of the shrubs looked moderately well, 

 although many of them were large, and their growth was pro- 

 gressing, which is better than when the plant makes no advance 

 till late in the autumn, and then not in time for the growth to be 

 ripened before winter, as is too often the case when it is 

 retarded at the proper time. 



To quota examples of failures in the present year arising 

 from planting late in spring would not bo fair, as the season 

 has been an exceptional one ; but there are some shrubs which 

 evidently like to be planted earlier, say in midwinter, or even 

 in unfavourable weather, rather than lata in spring. The 

 hhododendron is one, for although it may be safely removed 

 at most times, it does not succeed so well as at other times if 

 planted too late in spring. I believe the losses with it have 

 this year been as great as with most shrubs. That early in 

 autumn ia the best time for planting many shrubs is generally 

 admitted, but that numbers of our most useful shrubs may be 

 safely traasplanted in April is also a fact established by many 

 examples, and the experience of the past season is not sufficient 

 to disprove it. Where shrubs or trees are iecsplanted inaaoh 



