746 



Gardening for Amateurs 



Flower of a modern Petun 



of the cuttings being placed in a closed 

 propagating case until they root, those of 

 Pelargonium should, after being firmly in- 

 serted in well-drained pots of sandy soil, 

 be placed on a shelf in the greenhouse, where 

 they will soon root. They strike readily 

 at any season of the year, in fact whenever 

 available. In order to obtain winter-flower- 

 ing plants of the Zonal kinds, the cuttings 

 should be rooted in spring, and the plants 

 grown out-of-doors in a spot fully exposed 

 to sun and air, keeping the flowers picked 

 off during the summer. Pots 5 to 6 inches 

 in diameter are suitable for winter- flowering 

 plants, and a compost mainlv of loam, but 

 with a little leaf-mould and sand, will suit 

 them well. When the pots are full of roots, 

 give an occasional stimulant. In order to 



economise space, cuttings 

 of bedding Pelargoniums 

 are often dibbled into 

 shallow boxes of soil. If 

 inserted about the end of 

 August or early in 

 September these will soon 

 root out-of-doors, taking 

 care to place them under 

 cover before frosts set in. 

 The time to propagate 

 the Show, Decorative and 

 Fancy varieties is when 

 their flowering season is 

 over, namely about the 

 end of July. The old 

 plants should be cut 

 down to within a few 

 inches of the soil, and the 

 most sturdy of the new 

 shoots selected as cut- 

 tings. A length of 3 to 

 3 J inches is suitable for 

 these, which are dibbled 

 in pots and then, treated 

 as recommended above. 

 The old cut-back plants 

 may be placed in a sunny 

 spot out - of - doors, and 

 kept quite dry. They 

 will very soon start into 

 growth, and are then 

 shaken clear of the old 

 soil, the long straggling 

 roots shortened back, and 

 the plants potted in comparatively small 

 pots. If repotted when necessary, the old 

 plants will form larger specimens the fol- 

 lowing year than those struck from cuttings. 

 Petunia. The Petunias are a very pretty 

 free-flowering race of plants of the easiest 

 possible culture. Some of them have double 

 and others single flowers. The double kinds 

 are, as a rule, increased by cuttings in spring 

 and the single forms from seed, which, if 

 sown in slight warmth early in March, pror 

 duces plants that will bloom throughout 

 the summer. Besides being attractive in 

 the greenhouse, Petunias are useful for bed- 

 ding, furnishing vases and window-boxes. 

 Phyllocactus. (See Succulents.) 

 Plumbago. (See Climbing Plants for the 

 Greenhouse.) 



