AagUBt 27, 1868. ] 



JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



143 



BEDDING TELARGONIUMS. 



EW varieties of bedding Pelargoniums, as well 

 as of other flowers, are being continually in- 

 troduced, and it is well to pause occasionally, 

 and calmly endeavour to ascertain what pro- 

 gress is being made, and what plants of 

 recent introduction are really superior to 

 older and well-tried varieties — in a word, to 

 see if novelties have anj'thing beyond the 

 fact of their being such to recommend them. 

 How frequently do we find that the plant 

 whose qualities have been set forth in such glowing colours 

 proves on trial to bo very poor indeed. Now, when this 

 happens it is certainly to be deplored, for the effect on 

 the mind of the disappointed cultivator must be one of dis- 

 gust, and these disappointments mnst act as a check to 

 horticulture. Still, dtspite such drawbacks as this, great 

 advances have undoubtedly been made in all classes of 

 bedding Pelargoniums ; for, from amongst hosts of second- 

 rate Pelargoniums, there will now and then crop up such 

 "joys" as Stella, Cybister, Mrs. Pollock. Rebecca, and 

 Flower of Spring, varieties that will hold thek own against 

 all comers for many a day. 



The season through which we are now passing has been 

 most trying for all classes of bedding plants, the dry heat 

 causing some plants, after a faint attempt at display, to 

 gradually pine away, and this even when regularly assisted 

 by water ; but although this has been the case in some 

 instances, it has not been so with the Pelargonium ; on the 

 contrary, the intense heat and long-continued drought have 

 only tended to establish all the more firmly its superiority 

 as a bedding plant over all others. 



Nearly all kinds of Pelargoniums have done well this 

 year, and although the summer has imdoubtedly been in 

 favour of the stronger-growing kinds, yet many varieties 

 of less growth have been most beautiful, and Iiave almost 

 " bloomed themselves to death." Minimum Nosegay was 

 never so good, the beds of it have been one blaze of bloom, 

 so beautiful and so even ; yet at what a cost has this dis- 

 play been obtained ! Now that the mass of blossom is 

 passing away, and the plants themselves are once more 

 becoming visible, it is perceived that they have made hardly 

 any growth, but I have no doubt the refreshing showers 

 now falling will encourage them to make fair growth yet. 

 The blossom of Christine was tolerably good in the earlier 

 part of the season, but it has suffered much of late ; the 

 trusses have come small, and the colour has been very 

 pale. In pleasing contrast to this sad behaviour of our 

 excellent old favourite. Rose Rendatler has been verj' 

 beautiful, its large and abundant trusses rendering it a 

 very conspicuous object. 



Amongst Sc.vr.r.KT Noseg.iys Cybister has shown forth 

 pre-eminent, a bed containing about two hundred plants of 

 it has been such a gorgeous mass of rich colour as to be 

 quite dazzling, and so far as I can see, the only merit 

 which Lady Constance Grosvenor possesses ovtr Cybister 

 is in having a somewhat bettor habit of growl h. Its flower 

 trusses are certainly not larger — in fact, I should say they 



No. 367.— Vol.. XV., New Sekies. 



are hardly so large. Of other varieties in this class, Chris- 

 tine Nosegay comes quite up to the description under which 

 it made its" appearance last year; it is of very compact 

 growth, and produces its bright cheerful blossoms most 

 abundantly. Waltham Seedling, though darker than Black 

 Dwarf, is not so compact a plant ; both are excellent varie- 

 ties. Then, again, Magenta Q,ueen is of a brighter shade 

 of colour, and its individual blossoms are more elegantly 

 shaped, but it has not so large a truss, nor does it form so 

 good a mass of colour as Amy Hogg. 



Of Scarlet Zona^ls, Lord Derby is very beautiful in 

 pots, nothing can be finer than its exquisitely-shaped petals 

 of rich-glowing scarlet, but I have not seen enough of it 

 planted-out to be able to form an opinion. The Clipper is 

 good, both in pots and in the open beds Dr. Liudley is 

 also a splendid pot kind. Provost, described as a salmon 

 rose scarlet, is a magnificent bedder, and has been most 

 beautiful. Rebecca, too, is a most beautiful and distinct 

 sort, but unfortunately the intense heat has caused the 

 delicate shading of its petals almost entirely to disappear. 

 Adonis is rightly named, both as regards its foliage and 

 flowers, and its dwarf and very compact growth renders it 

 useful for manv purposes. Glow is also a very good sort, 

 having well-shaped scarlet blossoms produced in the 

 gi'eatest profusion. 



Gloire de Nancy is a aood double kind, and this dry 

 season has well suited its strong growth and peculiar 

 blossoms, but it is to be feared that it would not be so good 

 in a damp moist summer, as its crowded trusses would be 

 very apt to rot off if subjected to a continuance of wet 



Amongst VAitii-.ii.vTED sorts, Flower of Spring is one of the 

 best : its habit of growth is very compact. Its handsome 

 trusses are of a soft and pleasing shade of scarlet, and the 

 broad creamy margin of its foliage has a most beautiful 

 effect, especially when viewed from a distance of a few 

 yards. An entire bed of it offers a warmth of colour to the 

 eye that is unsurpassed by any other vai-icty in it^ class. 

 Italia Unita is good, and the foliage has retained its colour 

 well, but it is ratlier a slow grower. 



Gcii.DEN Tr.iror.oiis.— Perhaps no Pelarsoniums have 

 suffered so mucli from the eftects of the combined heat and 

 drought as the Golden Tricolor varieties ; the leif tints of 

 Mrs. Pollock have not been so bright as usual. This 

 variety is not so effective in a mass as some of the- Gold- 

 leaved kinds. I have frequently heard it remariied that 

 Golden Chain is very much brighter and move effL'ctive 

 when thus plantinl. Lady CuUum has borne the heat 

 tolerably well, better, in fact, than most other sort< ; but 

 LEmpereur, fine as it is when grown in pots, has lost 

 much of its rich markings in the open border. 



Of th'e Gold axu Bronze section, some kinds have suffered 

 very much from the etTects of the burning sun. Of those 

 wliich I have found to be really good for bedding, Van- 

 dyke, with its shaded white and salmon or pinkish blos- 

 soms, is a useful kind. It bears the heat well, and is a 

 compact plant. Bronze Shield is a fine robust variety, 

 with a good bold truss of scarlet flowers. I have not grown 

 more than eight or niue varieties of this section, and out of 

 these have only found foiu- worth keeping for hedding pnr- 



No. 103?.— Vol. XL., Old SEBliiU. 



