306 SATURDAY IN MY GARDEN 



who has no proper heating apparatus in his greenhouse or frame 

 be deluded into the belief that he can preserve his geranium 

 cuttings through the winter. Unless they can be kept fairly dry 

 and free from frost failure is certain. If an attempt be made in 

 autumn to strike cuttings in an unheated frame there is always 

 the danger to be faced that they will " damp off " as soon as cold, 

 wet weather sets hi. 



These perils may be avoided if an early start be made in the task 

 of propagation, and I strongly advise that it be undertaken 

 towards the end of July or early in August. This can be done 

 without the aid of glass. The cuttings, if planted out of doors, 

 will root readily in a month or six weeks. 



Diagram 50 will afford some hints on the proper methods to 

 be adopted in preparing the cuttings. First of all select strong 

 growing plants from which to take " slips," and adopt some kind 

 of system so as not to strip a plant completely and make it un- 

 sightly, for it must be borne in mind that there are still two 

 months in which we may expect the geranium to make our 

 gardens gay. 



Figure No. 1 in the diagram shows the kind of cutting to be 

 secured if possible. All flowers should be cut off where it has 

 been impossible to obtain a " slip " without buds. Very little work 

 is required to make the cutting ready for insertion in the 

 ground, but what little work there is is important. First pull 

 off the two lowest leaves as indicated by the dotted lines in 

 Figure 2 ; next remove the stipule at the base of the cutting as 

 shown in Figure 4 ; and third, make a clean cut at the point 

 marked " A " in Figure 1. This last rule should be strictly 

 observed. Many amateurs make the mistake of cutting through 

 the " slip " slantwise. The transverse cut is the correct 

 method. 



While in the case of most tender plants cuttings should not be 

 allowed to droop or flag, the opposite policy seems to be a good 

 one for geraniums. It is an excellent plan to allow an interval 

 of a day between the taking of the cuttings and their planting out. 

 This allows time for the " slips " to dry off somewhat ; it gets rid 



