TENDER BEDDING PLANTS 323 



and roots, leaving no more than short stumps in both cases. When 

 the plants are thus deprived of foliage they need no longer be ex- 

 posed to light, but may be hung up in a cellar or attic. It cannot 

 be said that the plan is always successful. Failure sometimes 

 ensues through the plants rotting off, and they are most likely to 

 do this when the place in which they are stored is damp. Decay 

 can be staved off sometimes by cutting out the parts affected and 

 dusting lime on ; indeed, the plants should be examined periodically 

 in order to see if they require such attention. Success turns upon 

 the promptitude with which incipient decay is dealt. Provided that 

 the plants can be kept sound, the plan is excellent, as fresh growth 

 starts in spring, and nice plants 

 soon develop. 



Zonals will thrive in almost 

 any kind of soil. They grow the 

 most rapidly in rich soil, natu- 

 rally, but there is such a thing as 

 over-luxuriance. Very free growth 



BEDDING-OUT ZONAL GERANIUMS 



means large, succulent plants, which A> A> tel1 s P ecimens planted m slanting position; 



B, a dwarfer specimen planted upright. 



do not flower very well, especially 



in a wet season. Shorter, harder plants are likely to bloom 

 better, and they will certainly keep on longer in autumn, because 

 the tough growth will resist the cold. The facts being thus, it 

 is not wise to prepare the soil so liberally as would be the case if 

 preparing for prize Sweet Peas. There is no occasion for trench- 

 ing or manuring; the ground should be well dug that is all. In 

 poor soil the plants may be put in fifteen inches apart ; in fertile 

 ground, eighteen inches. Gardeners who have to deal with old, 

 scraggy plants, which exhibit an inordinate amount of bare stem, 

 adopt the plan of inserting them in a sloping position, so as to 

 bring the tops nearer to the ground. 



Zonals with beautiful foliage rarely have really fine blooms, but 

 they can be associated with other plants which are attractive by 



