Adoust 23, 1906. 



The Weekly Florists^ Review* 



855 



MISCELLANEOUS 

 SEASONABLE HINTS. 



. Geraniums, 



It seems but a few days since ^e 

 were filling vases and pots with the 

 unequaled and useful plant, the zonal 

 geranium, and now here we are again 

 within a few days of when the first 

 batch of cuttings should be taken oflE 

 and rooted. There has been some spicy 

 talk of late in a contemporary on the 

 quantity of geranium plants that could 

 be propagated during winter from a 

 given number of plants. I did not fol- 

 low the controversy closely, but did 

 notice some of the figures and consid- 

 ered them a gross exaggeration of what 

 is possible with these popular plants. 

 By keeping old stock plants of gera- 

 niums in a high temperature during win- 

 ter you doubtless could produce a good 

 many young plants, but what are they 

 worth? To the man who haa to supply 

 his customers in May with vigorous, 

 robust plants, they are largely useless. 

 We have often had occasion to buy a 

 few hundred or thousand geraniums at 

 what appeared a very low price. The 

 only use we could make of them was to 

 cut off the top for a cutting and throw 

 away the original plant. They were in 

 almost all cases such drawn, attenuated 



specimens that it was impossible to make 

 a decent plant of them. 



A geranium wants growing just as 

 much as a palm or dracsena, but many 

 large firms when they grow dracsenas, 

 palms or pandanus, look with disdain on 

 the plebeian zonal geranium; and if they 

 grow geraniums at all they are given 

 a back seat along' the edge of the paths 

 or are so crowded, they soon become 

 diseased and useless. I am not going 

 to claim that the bedding geranium is 

 as profitable as many other less familiar 

 plants, yet we know several firms in 

 the neighborhood who grow first-class 

 4-inch geraniums and sell them to retail- 

 ers, peddlers, or at public market at 

 $10.00 per hundred and make a good 

 profit. They do not occupy much space 

 during the winter and when carnations 

 are thrown out axter Easter the gerani- 

 ums are given their last shift, a 4-inch, 

 and by bedding time make fine, robust 

 plants in flower. 



Rootinsf Geraniums. 



Before we had much experience in 

 this climate we attempted to root the 

 geraniums in August. It was a sad 

 failure. The cuttings would turn black 

 and quickly rot. The cause of this is 



that the quantity of water they needed 

 in such tropical heat would overcharge 

 their tissue and the delicate walls of 

 the cellular tissue would burst, and decay 

 would be bound to soon ensue. Particu- 

 larly in this extraordinary hot and humid 

 August would it be folly to begin prop- 

 agation until we have a decided change 

 of weather, and it surely will come in 

 September. 



The first week in September we have 

 found a good time to take off the first 

 batch of cuttings from the plants in the 

 garden or field. Three or four joints 

 of the leading shoots make the ideal cut- 

 ting. Never rob a cutting of all its 

 foliage (as I have seen done), which is 

 a great mistake, nor leave on too many 

 leaves. The two youngest leaves are 

 enough, which will leave two joints with- 

 out leaves, which should be cut off close 

 to the stem and not pulled off. Pot 

 these cuttings in 2-inch or 2%-inch pots 

 according to their size and strength and 

 place on the greenhouse bench. It is 

 better if this bench has the full sun 

 and light, but for the first two weeks a 

 temporary shade would be of benefit. 



Firming; the Soil. 



It is most essential that the soil in 

 these little pots should be firm and solid, 

 not merely thuinbed on the surface, but 

 solid around the base of the cutting. 

 This can only be done by getting your 

 thumb and first finger down by the side 

 of the cutting like a wedge. The first 

 watering will take care of the surface. 

 It is remarkable how many young gar- 

 deners are oblivious of this important 

 fact. They will revolve the pot and 

 keep up a thumbing on the surface. 



Trade Exhibition at Dayton.— View from the Balcony. 



