PELARGONIUM 



PELARGONIUM 



1259 



aiul E. (, Hill & Co Ric limo 

 vers, San Fiancisco has a 1 

 Lady Washington class The H 

 of Cornell University h is 

 had about 1 000 \ irietiis 

 and species repiesenting 

 all groups 



Bentham and Hool er 

 estimate that the gimis 

 Pelargonium contains 

 about 170 species Nedil> 

 all of them are from houth 

 Africa. All the spetits 

 mentioned in this aitide 

 are from that region 

 Harvey, in Vol I of Har 

 vey & Sonder s Flora 

 Capensis (18o9-00) ad 

 mits 103 species and his 

 descriptions are followed 

 closely in the thaidcteiuations of 

 species given below Pelargo 

 nium is distinmi In 1 ti mi the 

 genus Geranium i i M i li i ^ 



acters. In in 

 crs o{ Geraniiin 



those of Peliri, m nii 111 il 1 Mil 



two upper pet il ditti iin_ ti )iii tlit 

 others in size and shape and otten in 

 coloring. The most constant differ 

 ence between the two genen is the 

 presence in P<*1 1 



tube, extendm., ti t i ih I i n 



of the sepals mi i Ih i ni i '1 il 

 of the caljx tiil i i li 1 I I i i ii 

 is not seen 1 \ ili i i il l mi 

 but it canbedi^imen 1 b\ inikuv i 

 longitudinal section of the flower and 

 pedicel. In Pelargonium the cahx is 

 5 parted , petils 5, mostly obo%ate or 

 spatulate in 2 sets or series comprising 

 upper and i lower 

 ;i or more of them merely 



CULT0BE i)h / \ VI I I I \ I 1 



the general II 



culture the < 



fact remains 1 1 



serve the requu i i ii 1 i i 



as it is to obscnc the icijuULmi ut 



other plant, in order to succeed i 



duce the best effects attainable 



it is true that the Gtrmium will grow nn 



make a good showing with compirativel 



little care there is as much difference betHccu 



a skilfully grown deranium plant and one 



lessly grown as there is between a faucj and 



a common rose or carnation 



In order to secure the best results it is nee 

 essary to propagate from perfectly healthy 

 stock. The dangers of over prnpa^'iition art as 

 great with thi i riiiimn -x with iim t ntli r 

 plants. In oi 1 t k i fli m i iii\ t ih 



the stock mt'in I 1 t i | i i i, m n n i li nil 



and to prop u It iih i li lu tli li U ,i w n ^ ^ __ 



the (.hints in tliH m nth fs iitmiber and plant 

 thi'iii nil h II h s in till i^teenhouse where 

 th.-y will b. line (stibhslitd and will main 

 tain a vigoious (onstitution throughout the 

 winter season The propagation from held 

 grown wood is far less successful than from 

 wood grown inside, and when the field-grown 

 cuttings are placed in sand, a large percentage 

 of them is likely to damp off, especially if 

 there has been a comparatively abundant rain- 

 fall during the month of July. The best method 

 that the writer has found for striking the field- 

 grown cuttings is to put them in 2-inch pots, 

 using a light, sandy soil free from all manure and chen 

 icals, and to place the pots in the full sunlight either i 

 a eoolhousc or a frame. These cuttings must be kept o 



hi ilr\ bide until the calluses ha\t been well tornied 

 iltli u^h they should not be allowed to shrncl at in\ 

 nil It the cuttings show signs of shriveling a light 

 .Minting IS preferable to a heaA J wateiing After the 



J t li i\ e started to grow the treatment of the plants 

 s thi same as if the cuttings had In en nttiil in the 



md and lepotted The writei ion i I i w I .kwu 

 iisidc superior to field glow II wo( d il iiiii. ue 

 iiuch shorter jointed most ol il m ill km 



haded for I dav or so it the sun is extrenielj 



hot, until the roots take hold and the foliage tills 



up and the stems begin to look plump 



Thr r rnnnini should iirt bt grown at 



I u luht 11 I \ mil I |(ili (tuient suil 

 as hiving too iiiikIi fresli ri 

 m the soil or kee]iing the plants 

 wet Too much strong plant food in 

 soil combined wilh too nil 



1701. 



opious showers or 



Excellent specimen Geranium 

 plants may be grown m pots, 

 especially of some of the newer 

 French and English round flow 

 ered varieties In older to pro 

 duce the best results select 

 young Mgorous plants that have 

 been propagated either in the 

 latter pait of August or 

 the fore part of Septem 

 ber and that have shown 

 a disposition to take hold 

 immediatelj both in root 

 ing and in starting to 

 grow after being potted 

 The soil should not be too 

 rich and it is best to start 

 with the plant in a rather 

 small pot sav 2H in and 

 proceed onward with light 

 shifts -that IS, shifting 

 the plant from a 2J^ in 

 to a \% in pot and so on 

 letting the sizes increase 

 an inch at each shift nn 

 til a 7 8 or 9 in pot is 

 reached, which will usu- 

 ally be large enough to 

 flower the finest speci- 

 mens. Whenever potting 

 the Geranium, be sure to 

 pot firmly, as a firm soil 

 produces a short-jointed, 

 stocky growth, and far more bloom than a loose or over- 

 rich soil. When the plants reach a 5- or (i-in. pot they 

 may be regularly fed with manure water. The mo.s't 



i fancy- leaved Gera- 



