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The Weekly Florists^ Review^ 



855 



Geraniums. 



ft sceins luit ;i few diiys since we 

 wen; lilliii"; vases and pels witli llie 

 une((ualc(l and us(>t'ul plant, llie zonal 

 j^oranitini, and now lieic we are a^ain 

 uitliin a few days of wlieu Ihe (irst 

 bateii of cuttiiii;s should he taken oil" 



and rooted. Tliere lias 1 n some spicy 



talk of late in a conteinporaiv on the 

 quantity uf goraniuni plants that could 

 be piui)ayated duriii;; winter frotn a 

 yiven uunil)i'r of plants. 1 di.l not fol- 

 low tlu' controversy closely, lint <'.i(l 

 notice some of the figures and consid- 

 ered them a gross exaggeration of what 

 is pos.sible with these |jopular plants. 

 Ily keeping old stock jdants of gera 

 iiiums in a high temperature during win- 

 ter you doubtless could pi'oduce a good 

 itiany young plants, but what are they 

 worth.' To the man who lias to supply 

 iiis customers in May witl^ vigorous, 

 robust jdants, they are largely useless. 

 We lia\e often had occasion to liny a 

 few huuilred or thousaml geraniums at 

 what appeared a very low price. The 

 only use we eouhl make of them was to 

 ent off the toj) for a cutting and tlirow 

 away the original plant. They were in 

 almost all cases smdi drawn, attenuated 



specimens that it was impossible to make 

 a decent iilant of them. 



A geranium wants growing just as 

 nmcli as a palm or draca'tia. but manv 

 laige firms when they grow dracM'iias, 

 palms or pamlanus, look with i|isd;iiri on 

 the plebeian zonal geraiunm; and if they 

 grow geraiuums at all they art! given 

 a back seat along the edge of tlie paths 

 or are so crowded they soon beiMitne 

 diseased ami usidess. 1 am not going 

 to (daiin that the bedding geranium is 

 as jirofitable .-is many other less familiar 

 plants, yet we know seveial firms in 

 the neighborhood who grow first-(da?-s 

 4-in(di geraniums and sell them to retail 

 ers, peddl(M-s, or at public market at 

 $10.0(1 jier hundred and make a good 

 profit. They ilo not occupy much sjiace 

 dni'ing the winter ami when carnations 

 are thrown out aiier l]aster the gerani 

 urns are given their last shift, a 4incli, 

 and by bedding time make tine, robust 

 plants in flower. 



Rooting Geraniums. 



Hef(n(' we lunl much experieiK'C in 



this (dimate wc attem|ited to root the 



geraniums in August. It was a sad 



failure. The cuttings woulcl turn bl.-ick 



j and (|uickly rot. The cause of this is 



that the (jii;nitity of w.-iter they nce.leil 

 in surli tropical heat would o\i'rch;irge 

 theii' tissue and the delicate w.alls of 

 the celbdar tissue would burst, and dcc.ay 

 woidd be bound to soon ensue. I'articu- 

 larly iu this ext raoi ilinary liot aiidlininid 

 August would it III- I'cdiy to begin prop- 

 agaliim nulil \\ e li;i\e a decided change 

 of weather, and it surely will coiiie in 

 September. 



The first week in Si|itemlier we iia\e 

 f(Mind a. good time ti> lake ofl' the tirst 

 bat(di of cuttine^ t'roMi the jilants in the 

 garden or field. Tlnre or to\ir joints 

 of the hading shoots make the ideal cut- 

 ting. Never i(di a cutting ol' all its 

 foli.age (as I have sein clone), which is 

 a gi'ejit mistake, mir leave on too many 

 leaves. The two youngest loaves are 

 emiugh, whi<di will leave two joints with- 

 out leaves, which shcuild be cut off (doso 

 to the stem and not pulled (Of. I'ot 

 these cuttitigs in Ll inch or l^'-j in<-li pots 

 according to their si/e and sti'ength aiul 

 place on the greeidmuse bench. It is 

 better if tins bemdi has the f'ull sun 

 and light, but for the first two weeks ;i 

 temporary shade would lie ot' benefit. 



Firming the Soil. 



It is most essi'ntial that the soil in 

 these little pots shoidd be fiini anil solid, 

 not tneridy thumbed on the surface, hut 

 s(did around the base ot' the cutting. 

 This can only be done iiy getting your 

 tliutnb and first fineer down by tin' side 

 of the ■■lifting like a wedge. The first 

 watering will take care of the surface. 

 It is remarkable how many ynuiig gar- 

 deners ;ire oblivious of this important 

 tact. They will revolvi' the put ami 

 keep up a thumbing on the surface, 



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^.'iW.^Z^SlCMiOJGO 

 lii^FR|iCATALOG(/E 



TINGS FROM 

 „<.«T M.CH 



IKTSEUIJ-iDmES 



VWHOiiCSALB DCAbCRS PI^HWrDC J^t 



;AND GftjOWERS pF 



V-t BUY DIRECT OF THE GROWERS. C 



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GREENS- r 



Trade Exhibition at Dayton.— View from the Balcony. 



