Geraniums for Winter Bloom in House or Office 



■W. T. Macoun. Horticulturist, Central £xperimental Farm, Ottawa 



I ("'HERE are few plants which can be 

 I made to give greater satisfaction 

 *■ during the winter months than 

 e geranium, for if the plants are prop- 

 cily cared for and the conditions of 

 temperature, hght and sunshine are 

 favorable, abundant bloom may be 

 obtained from early in the winter until 



Geraniums in Bloom 



^iThis photo was taken from the outside of the Horti- 

 ctllturist's Office. C. E. F., Ottawa, and shows the 

 appearance of the bloom to the passer-by. 



(Photo by P. T. Shutt, C.E.P., Ottawa) 



it is time for bedding out in the spring. 

 The geranium suffers less from insects 

 and fungous diseases than most house 

 plants, which is another inducement to 

 cultivate this beautiful flower. Anyone 

 who has a suitable window in his house 

 or office can obtain abundant winter 

 bloom if the following treatment is given : 

 This method refers only to old plants 

 that have been in the house all winter, 

 or in the bed all summer, and is recom- 

 mended for those who do not wish to 

 take time to care for the plants in pots. 



Plants that have been blooming all 

 summer are usually too large for trans- 

 planting into pots in the autumn, or if 

 not too large are too "leggy" from being 

 gjrown close together in beds. But, for 

 the average person, these are the most 

 available, and they may be treated in 

 such a manner that good results will 

 follow. In order to make the plants 

 stocky and of good shape, and capable of 

 producing abundant bloom, they should 

 be pruned back to within six inches or 

 less of the ground about a month before 

 the plants are likely to be killed by frost. 

 If they are not well headed back they 

 will be leggy, as buds will only break 

 from the upper parts of the stems. By 

 the time there is frost, shoots will have 

 broken along the old stems and the 

 plants will bloom sooner than if the prun- 

 ing is left until they are put in pots. 



We have had the best results from the 

 use of rather large pots, six inch giving 

 good satisfaction. While bloom may 

 be obtained a little earlier by using 

 smaller pots, the plants have to remain 

 in them so long —from September to 



May — that they become pot bound, and 

 are not satisfactory or sightly in late 

 winter and early spring when flowers are 

 much appreciated. 



The soil for the pots should not be 

 very rich, as plants will make vigorous 

 growth in comparatively poor soil, and 

 will bloom sooner. The mistake is too 

 often made of using rich soil, resulting 

 in a large amount of sappy growth, with 

 few or no flowers. It is from the firm or 

 partially ripened wood that the best 

 bloom is produced. Good loamy soil 

 with enough sand mixed with it to make 

 it rather open will be found quite satis- 

 factory. It should not be of such a char- 

 acter that it will bake, for after watering 

 for several months, unless the soil is of 

 the right texture, the surface becomes 

 hard and the plants do not thrive well. 

 When the plants are dug it is usually 

 necessary to reduce their size so that 

 they will go nicely into the pots. The 

 roots, also, may be shortened in, so that 

 they will not be crowded in the pot 

 and so that the plant may be set well 

 down ; as the lower it is in the pot, the 

 less leggy the plant is likely to be if the 

 shoots do not come from the lower part 

 of the stem. The soil is made firm 

 about the plant, and the pot filled with 

 soil to within about half an inch of the 



One of the greatest mistakes made by 

 many who grow plants in houses is that 

 too much watering is done. The ger- 

 aniums will not make much growth for 

 several weeks after planting, and during 

 this time they should be given compar- 

 atively little water — just enough in fact 

 to prevent them from becoming dry. 

 At no time should the soil be soaked, as 

 much water will tend to make sappy 

 growth with few flowers. Each pot 

 should be treated individually, when 

 watering, and the plant watered only 

 when it needs it. Too often all the plants 

 are watered at the same time, and at 

 regular intervals without regard to the 

 needs of the individual plants. Some 

 plants do not need as much moisture as 

 others, as they are not making as thrifty 

 a growth and do not transpire so much 

 moisture. Plants should not be watered 

 until the surface of soil has become dry. 



It will be necessary to do some judici- 

 ous pinching back of the new growth 

 early in the winter when the plants are 

 growing thriftily, to induce them to 

 throw out additional shoots, as the 

 more shoots there are, the more bloom 

 there will be later on. , One should sacri- 

 fice some of the earlier blooms rather than 

 neglect pinching back, as a plant well 

 covered with bloom is so much more 



Geraniums in Bloom, inside view, Horticulturist's Office, C.E.F., Ottawa 



(Photo by F. T. Shutt, C.E.F., Ottawa) 



top. The plants should now be well 

 watered and put in the shade for a few 

 days, after which they may be placed 

 in the window where they are to remain, 

 and here it may be said that Hght and 

 sunshine are absolutely essential if satis- 

 factory results are to be obtained, hence 

 a southern window should be chosen and 

 the plants put as near the glass as pos- 

 sible. A cool room is much better than 

 a warm one for geraniums. In a warm 

 room the plants grow beyond bounds and 

 do not bloom well. 



197 



satisfactory than one with only one or 

 two trusses, even though obtained earlier. 

 The time when the geraniums begin 

 to bloom will depend very much on the 

 time when they are cut back the previous 

 summer and on the variety, but if judi- 

 ciously planned there should be bloom 

 from January until May. Some of the 

 most satisfactory varieties for wijfiter 

 bloom are: Jacquerie, Cardi, Phyllis, 

 Lilian Duff, Dryden,Severin, Gettysburg, 

 although there are many others which 

 succeed, almost equally as well. 



