1 82 POPULAR GARDEN FLOWERS 



plants are likely to do better the following year, and, 

 cheap as they are nowadays, anybody can afford to 

 buy a fresh stock each season. 



Propagation. Given a greenhouse from which frost 

 is excluded in winter, four-inch flowerless shoots may 

 be taken off the plants in August just below a joint, 

 deprived of their lower leaves, and inserted firmly two 

 inches deep in shallow boxes of sandy soil, or even in 

 a prepared bed outdoors. In any case they should be 

 exposed fully to sun and air. They will have rooted 

 by the time they have to be put under glass in October, 

 but will not have grown much, and it is not desirable 

 that they should, because the more growth they make 

 in winter the more room they will want, and space is 

 generally at a discount. On this account the cooler 

 they are kept the better, provided frost does not touch 

 them. They may be put in unheated frames in April, 

 and hardened as far as they can be hardened by full 

 exposure in fine weather. 



Plants to flower in winter should be raised from 

 cuttings inserted in small pots in a greenhouse in May, 

 and not allowed to bloom until autumn, all the flowers 

 being picked off as fast as they show. If they are kept 

 thenceforward in a house with a temperature of 50 to 

 55, with 45 as a minimum, they will bloom con- 

 tinuously until spring. Decaying flower trusses should 

 be picked off regularly, as if the petals fall on to 

 the leaves and stick, disease will develop in the 

 foliage. 



The Ivy-leaved Geranium, like the Zonal, is really a 

 Pelargonium. There are many flower -lovers to be 

 found who consider it to be the most beautiful member 

 of the genus, when represented by the modern varieties 

 which the florists have raised. These sorts have come 



