PELARGONIUM CULTURE 647 PELARGONIUM CULTURE 



the moment the hybridising is performed, cover the 

 flowers with a close-fitting cap of fine muslin-net, to 

 prevent insects from carrying strange pollen to the 

 stigma dusted with pollen from such varieties as have 

 the desirable properties. When the seed is ripe, gather 

 it carefully, and divest it of its arils, or feather-like 

 appendages, wrap it up in paper, and keep it in a dry 

 drawer, in a cool room, till spring. Sow it early in 

 March, and place it in a gentle heat ; a hotbed that has 

 been at work for a few weeks will answer admirably. 

 Sow in wide, shallow pots, well-drained, in a light, rich 

 compost, press the seed down gently, and cover it about 

 i inch. If the seed is good, it will quickly germinate, 

 and should then be removed from the hotbed, and placed 

 upon a shelf in the greenhouse near to the glass. Water 

 very moderately, or the plants will be apt to damp off. 

 As soon as the seedlings have made their second leaf, 

 pot them off singly into 2-inch pots, in a compost of loam 

 and leaf-mould, in equal parts, with a liberal addition 

 of river-sand, finely sifted. Replace them on the shelf, 

 and shade for a time from hot sunshine. The seedlings 

 will soon fill these small pots with roots. They must 

 then be re-potted into a size larger pot, and subsequently 

 be treated in the same way as such as have been propa- 

 gated by cuttings. Keep" them close to the glass, and 

 give abundance of air on all favourable occasions. As 

 soon as the weather will permit, place them out of doors, 

 upon a bed of ashes of sufficient thickness to prevent 

 worms from entering the pots. The situation should be 

 an open one, the grand object being to ripen the wood, 

 and induce a stocky or bushy habit, so as to insure 

 their flowering the following season. The size of pots 

 to flower them in need not be more than 4^ inches. 

 When there is a fear of autumnal frosts, remove them 

 into the greenhouse, and place them on a shelf, at such 

 a distance from the glass as will serve to keep them 

 dwarf and bushy. There is no need to top them in the 

 manner recommended hereafter for plants raised from 

 cuttings the object being not to make fine specimens, 

 but to get them to flower as quickly as possible the 

 spring following. 



By Cuttings .Cuttings may be put in and struck from 

 February to September; the general time, however, is when 

 the plants have done flowering, and require cutting down 

 to make bushy plants for the next season. This generally 

 happens from the end of June to the beginning of August. 



The best place to strike the cuttings in is a well-con- 

 structed propagating-house ; but, as every one has not 

 such a convenience, they may be very successfully 

 propagated in a frame set upon a spent hotbed, first 

 removing the soil, and replacing it upon a thick coat of 

 coal-ashes, to keep out the worms. Upon this coat 

 place another of dry sawdust, to plunge the cutting- pots. 

 This dry sawdust will serve to absorb the moisture from 

 the earth in the pots and the necessary waterings. The 

 best soil is pure loam, mixed with silver sand. The size 

 of the pots should neither be too large, nor too small 

 5 inches wide at the top is the most proper. Some use 

 small pots, and only place one cutting in each. This, 

 where the cuttings are few and the convenience small, 

 will be suitable enough. It has this advantage, also, 

 that the cuttings are, after being rooted, more con- 

 veniently repotted, without in the least injuring the 

 young and tender roots ; but where the quantity to be 

 increased is large, the former method of putting several 

 cuttings in 5-inch pots will be more convenient, and, 

 with care, equally as successful. Whichever method is 

 adopted, the pots must be well drained with broken 

 potsherds, the larger pieces at the bottom, and smaller 

 at the top. Fill them to the top with the prepared loam, 

 which should be put through a rather coarse sieve to 

 take out the stones, roots of grain, and other extraneous 

 matter. It should not be pressed down too hard, but 

 made firm enough to hold the cuttings fast. Another 

 point is to use it in a state neither wet nor dry. The 

 side-shoots which have not flowered, and are not more 

 than 2 inches long, make the best cuttings. These should 

 be cut off close to the stem from whence they spring with 

 a sharp knife. Cut off the bottom leaves close to the 

 stem, leaving only two of the uppermost. Place the 

 cuttings, after they are made, in a shady situation, upon 

 a dry board or slate, to dry up the wound. This will 

 take an hour on a dry day, or two hours on a dull, cloudy 

 one. Then put them in the prepared pots round the 

 edge, inclining the leaves inwards, so that they may not 

 touch the leaves of those in the contiguous pots when 



they are placed in the frames, or set upon the heated 

 material in the propagating-house. When a pot is filled, 

 give it a gentle watering, and set it on one side to dry up 

 the moisture on the leaves and surface of the soil. Then 

 plunge them in the frame, and shade them carefully 

 and effectually from the sun, or even from the light. 

 Reduce the shade gradually, using it only during bright 

 sunshine. A little air may also be given every day, by 

 tilting up the lights behind, if in a frame. The propa- 

 gating-house will only require air when the heat is too 

 great, to reduce the temperature to 55 or 60. The 

 cuttings must be frequently examined, to see if roots 

 are formed ; and as soon as they are an inch long, pot 

 them off immediately into the smallest 6o-pots, which 

 are generally about 2" inches diameter. A small addition 

 of well-decomposed leaf-mould may be mixed amongst 

 the loam with advantage. When they are finished 

 potting off, give another gentle watering, and replace 

 them in the frame or propagating-house until fresh roots 

 are formed ; renew the shading, but disuse it as soon as 

 it is safe to do so, and then give plenty of air, to prevent 

 them being drawn up and spindly. To cause them to 

 become bushy plants furnished with branches close to 

 the pot, nip off the top bud ; the lower side buds will 

 then break and push forth, and these must be again 

 stopped as soon as they have made three leaves. The 

 plants will then be ready to receive a second potting, 

 and should be removed into the open air. 



The above remarks and directions, so far as the cuttings 

 are concerned, relate only to the (as they are called) 

 show varieties. There is another class of pelargoniums, 

 which are denominated fancy varieties. These are more 

 difficult to increase by cuttings. Place the cuttings in 

 shallow pans, ii inch only deep, with a hole in the centre, 

 in the usual loam and sand, placing them on a shelf in 

 the propagating-house, or in the frame, close to the 

 glass, upon topsy-turned pots. The cuttings are made 

 very short, with a portion of the old wood at the bottom 

 of each. Very little water is given till the callosities are 

 formed, when it is given more freely, and then roots 

 make their appearance, when they are immediately 

 potted off, and the usual treatment followed. 



By Buds. Make a shallow pan ready for them, by first 

 putting in a portion of pure loam and sand, then a 

 covering of pure sand alone, give a gentle watering to 

 settle it, and then prepare the buds. Take a shoot of 

 moderate strength, cut off the leaves, but not quite close 

 to the stem, then cut off the two lowest buds, leaving 

 about J inch of wood below each bud. After that, split 

 the shoot containing the two buds down the centre. If 

 the two buds are not exactly opposite, but one a little 

 below the other, the upper one must be shortened below 

 the bud to the proper length. The upper cut should be 

 very nearly close to the bud. Make a sufficient number 

 ready at once to fill the pan or pot, and plant them, using 

 a short, blunt stick a degree thicker than the bud-cutting. 

 Insert them so as only to leave the bud just above the 

 sand. Plant them close to, and round the edge of the 

 pan, placing the cut side close against the pot, which 

 will, of course, place the bud side inwards. Then fill up 

 the holes with a little dry sand, and water gently again. 

 Place them either in a propagating-house, a shady part 

 of a stove near the glass roof, or in a frame. Shade from 

 bright sunshine in whatever situation they are placed, 

 and water as required. The buds will soon break and 

 show leaves, shortly to be followed by a shoot. 



By Roots. Some kinds of Fancy Pelargoniums, and 

 most of the Cape original species, are difficult to increase 

 by any of the above methods. In such cases there is 

 left the mode of increase by cuttings of the roots. This is 

 almost certain of success. Take an old plant, shake off 

 carefully all the soil, and cut the roots into short pieces, 

 retaining as many fibres as possible to each. Put each 

 root-cutting singly into as small pots as they can be got 

 into, leaving the top just visible. Place them in the 

 house, or frame, appropriated to propagation ; give a 

 gentle watering, and shade effectually. New roots will 

 soon push forth, and then shoots will appear, generally 

 in clusters. When that takes place, reduce the shade, 

 to give colour to the leaves and strength to the shoots. 

 As these advance in growth, thin them gradually, by 

 slipping one or two off at a time, till finally they are 

 reduced to one which is to form the future plant. As 

 soon as this shoot attains the height of 2 or 3 inches, 

 nip off the top to cause side-shoots to grow, and so form 

 a neat, bushy plant. 



