Jane %, 1868. ] 



JOURNAL OF HORTIOOIiTORB AND OOXTAQB OARBENEB. 



461 



BUDDING AND GRAFTING PELARGONIUMS. 



I^OTICING in page 412 a reply to a corre- 

 spondent on the subject of Pelargonium 

 grafting, and that the opinion is expressed 

 that you " do not tliink budding would be 

 successful," I am induced to send you a few 

 particulars of some experiments which I have 

 recently been carrying on in that way. 



Having last autumn a number of strong- 

 growing seedling Zonal Pelargoninms, which, 

 on flowering, proved to be of no value in them- 

 selves, the idea occurred to me of trying the efl'ect of bud- 

 ding and grafting Pelargoniums of different sections upon 

 them, and I at once selected a few of those having the 

 straightest and strongest stems as stocks for working upon, 

 principally with the object of making standards. The 

 following are some of the results : — 



In the second week in November I inserted in one of 

 the stocks above referred to, two grafts of a variety of 

 Fancy Pelargonium named I>rofusion, and in another 

 stock four buds of the same variety. One of the grafts 

 took, and has since grown well and flowered freely. Of 

 the four buds inserted in the other stock, one went oIT; 

 the others remained inactive until the commencement of 

 this year, when two of them commenced growing, slowly 

 at iirst, but have since become gradually more vigorous, 

 and are now forming a nice head to the stock ; the fourth 

 bud also started to grow a short time ago, after being 

 inactive for more than four months, and although it has 

 not taken so well as the other two, it is gradually gaining 

 strength. Another bud, inserted in the same stock on the 

 18th of February to replace that which went off, is just 

 now starting into growth. 



I may here state that the stock upon which these 

 buds are worked is a very strong one, with a clear stem 

 2J inches in circumference, and 2 feet high to where it 

 first branches out, and it was in four separate branches 

 that the buds were inserted, one in each. The buds have 

 not yet flowered, but (and here let me state that this was 

 one of the main objects I had in view when putting in tlic 

 buds), the leaves are, up to the present time, very per- 

 ceptibly altered in their character from the original by 

 the influence of the stock : whilst in the case of the grafted 

 plant the stock does not appear to have had any influence in 

 altering either leaf or flower. Whether the stock will have 

 any influence in changing the character of the flowers on 

 the budded plant remains to be seen, but I think it will 

 not. 



The next most successful result I have had is with the 

 Ivy-leaf section of Pelargonium budded on the before- 

 mentioned seedUng Zonal stocks. On .January l.'jth this 

 year I inserted a bud of the old White Ivy-leaf in a stock 

 at a height of 2 feet from the pot ; this is now growing 

 very rapidly, is forming a fine head, and has been several 

 times stopped. It has flowered, but the stock in this case 

 does not appear to have had any other influence in altering 

 the character of the budded variety than giving it more 

 vigour. I have also two stocks budded with Peltatum 

 No. 878.— Vol. XIV, New Sebiks. 



elegans (Ivy-leaf), at 2 feet liigli, the one budded in 

 February and the other in March. The former, which has 

 two buds upon it, has flowered, and is growing rapidly, 

 and making a fine head. The latter has four buds upon 

 it, all of which have started to grow. 



On another stock, also budded with Peltatum elegans at 

 •1 feet high with two buds, both buds are growing. Another 

 stock I also budded in March, at 4 feet high, with the new 

 variegated Ivy-leaf L'Elegante, one bud on which out of 

 two put in was just starting to grow, when, through an 

 accident, the top of the stock was broken off about 8 inches 

 below the place where the bud was inserted, and, to show 

 how well the bud in this instance had taken to the stock, 

 the broken top was put in as a cutting, and is no>v rooted, 

 and the bud starting into fresh growth. In the early part 

 of April I inserted two buds of the Fancy Pelargonium 

 Cloth of Silver, using for the stock in this instance the 

 scarlet Pelargonium Donald Beaton, with a clear stem 

 2 feet high, both buds are just starting into growth, and 

 appear to have taken well. 



On another stock, a Zonal seedling, I put in on February 

 22nd the following varieties, commencing at about 8 inches 

 fi'om the base of the stock, and inserting a bud just above 

 the base of every leaf up the main stem. The first bnd 

 from the bottom was 'Bijou, then came Madams Vaucher, 

 •Waltham Seedling, Pink Stella, *Violet Hill, *Brilliant, 

 *Madame Vaucher, *Mrs. I'oUock, Christine, 'Bijou, and 

 Lun.a. Those marked with an asterisk are all growing, 

 and I believe every bnd would have taken had tlie stock 

 been in better condition when the buds were put in, but at 

 the time the bark did not run well. 



Another Zonal seedling stock I have budded with a 

 large-flowered Pelargonium, which is growing, and just 

 coming into flower. I have one or two other cases not 

 worth describing ; besides, the above facts will be sufficient 

 to show that budding Pelargoniums may be carried on 

 successfully, and certainly in my case it has been to me a 

 most interesting experiment. I am not aware if the same 

 thing has been tried before — that is, with regard to budding 

 one section upon another. Of course the grafting of Zonal 

 Pelargoniums one variety on the other is an old affair, but 

 I do not remember to have ever seen any account of bud- 

 ding having been tried, but possibly it has. 



With respect to the Ivj'-leaf section, I believe the faci 

 that it can be successfully budded upon the common Zonal 

 varieties will prove useful, as plants worked as standards, 

 say from 2 to feet high, would form fine objects for 

 conservatory decoration, and particularly when they can 

 be so quickly and easily obtained of the desired height, 

 which they can bo by sowing seed of any strong growing 

 Zonal variety, and letting the seedling plants run up to 

 the required height for working upon. Wliat .1 tine object 

 a plant would be if workeil, say at ti or 6 feet high, on a 

 good stout stock with some of the new variegated Ivy 

 leaf varieties, and allowed to hang naturally down after 

 being properly stopped a few times to form a good head. — 

 .T. H. Mason, Prince's Park, lArcrpnnl. 



PS. — I may state that the method of inserting the buds 

 is juBt the same aa in budding a Rose, and that the bud is 

 No. lOSO.— Vol. XXXIS, Qui »Esaa. 



