The Weekly Florists' Review. 



October 1, 1908. 



Selecting the Cuttings. 



Success in the rooting of geraniums 

 depends considerably on the condition of 

 the plants from which the cuttings are 

 taken. If the plants are soft and the 

 growth long- jointed or weak, there is but 

 little hope of success in their propaga- 

 tion, and for that reason cuttings, when 

 possible, should be taken from plants 

 grown in full sunlight, indoors or out, 

 with a preference for short- jointed wood. 



After the cuttings are dibbled into a 

 flat the soil should receive a good water- 

 ing. If the work is done in September, 

 in most sections of the country the flats 

 should be placed outdoors, and if there 

 is need of protection from high winds, 

 such protection can easily be given by 

 the erection of an enclosure composed of 

 one or two 12-inch boards. Or, still 

 better, they may be placed in open 

 frames, where further protection can the 

 more easily be given to them if a neces- 

 sity arises for such before it becomes 

 advisable to rtemove them to more per- 

 manent quarters. 



Another point in favor of the flat 

 method of rooting geraniums is, that in 

 case of space not being available for 

 their continuous occupancy, they are 

 easily moved from one place to another. 



Rooting in a Greenhouse Bench. 



There is no doubt but that the quickest 

 method of propagating geraniums is that 

 of placing the cuttings, just as Mr. 

 Muchow says, in clean sand in a green- 



ROOTING GERANIUM CUTTINGS. 



I was interested in the several letters 

 in recent issues of the Review, on rooting 

 geranium cuttings. As practically every 

 florist and gardener handles more or less 

 of these plants, the best method of propa- 

 gation is certainly an important ques- 

 tion. 



I have always found that the cuttings 

 from plants grown under glass, being 

 less sappy, rooted with a smaller per- 

 centage of loss than those taken from 

 outdoor plants. A great many growers, 

 even in our northern states, err in propa- 

 gating too early. Frost sufficiently se- 

 vere to kill geraniums will sometimes oc- 

 cur in Massachusetts by the third week in 

 September, This accounts somewhat for 

 the desire to get the cuttings in early 

 in that month, but if sure frost would 

 hold off until October 1, I am positive 

 there would be a far smaller ratio of 

 loss from cuttings taken then than a 

 month earlier. 



It is a good plan to lay the cuttings 

 in the sun for a few hours after making 

 them, in order to draw some of the 

 sap out of them. If placed in well 

 drained pans or flats of sharp sand and 

 stood on a shelf in full sunshine, there 

 should be no trouble in rooting eighty 

 to eighty-five per cent of the cuttings. 

 I believe in a soaking watering and then 

 tolerable dryness at the root the rest of 

 the winter until the time comes to pot 

 them along. When taken from flats of 



Nephrolepis Elegantissima Compacta. 



house bench, where there is plenty of 

 light and the bench is near the glass. 

 And if it is possible to pot up the plants 

 whenever they are fairly well rooted, 

 good plants, without many fatalities, will 

 result. If, on the contrary, the plants 

 are allowed to remain in the sand very 

 long after they are rooted, the results 

 are invariably many fatalities from 

 damping and crowding. 



The most expensive, but withal the 

 method by which the most perfect plants 

 can be obtained, is that of placing each 

 cutting in a small pot filled with sandy 

 soil, with a top covering of clean, sharp 

 sand. D. M. 



sand, the cuttings will be found to have 

 made a perfect network of fibrous roots, 

 and when potted off in a warm, genial 

 temperature, these soon make fine plants. 

 I disapprove of standing the cuttings 

 outdoors, not because of any fear of 

 injury from sun or wind, but from 

 dampness, especially in the form of 

 drenching rains. A dry house is the ideal 

 location for these cuttings, and they only 

 require sufficient moisture at the root 

 to prevent them from shriveling. Even 

 in the case of M. M. L., I should say 

 that he could get better results by plac- 

 ing his cuttings under glass towards the 

 end of October, rather than out of doors. 



Geranium cuttings need no shade at 

 any time. In winter and spring I have 

 found they root better in sandy loam, 

 in small pots, rather than in pure sand, 

 and some bottom heat being at command, 

 not over five per cent should fail, while 

 the loss on the more succulent outdoor 

 cuttings will be somewhat greater. If 

 growers would only propagate later, dry 

 their cuttings before inserting them, and 

 keep under glass all the time, there would 

 be less failures to record. 



W. N. Ceaig. 



ROOTING GERANIUMS. 



I should like to give my way of root- 

 ing geraniums, though it may not be 

 much different from that of most others. 



I put all my cuttings in together, 

 whether grown inside or out, in three 

 inches of sand. I water them well and 

 give them no shade. Later, if the sand 

 gets too dry, I give them a good soaking, 

 which is usually enough till they come 

 out, when I get fully ninety-five per 

 cent. « 



Of course, they will not all be rooted 

 at the same time, owing to a difference 

 in the condition of the wood, some cut- 

 tings being softer than others, but they 

 all get potted and the unrooted ones will 

 finish in the pots. I do not have much 

 success if I put them in pots first, but 

 lose many, mostly through too much 

 moisture, I think. 



I use the same sand over and over 

 again. By being careful to keep all de- 

 caying matter, such as dead leaves, etc., 

 off the bench, I have no trouble. I have 

 used the same sand for three years and 

 saw no difference in results when it was 

 changed. After the season is over, I 

 chop the sand over several times and dry 

 it out well, and, while it may not be 

 steam heated after the new fashion, it 

 gives satisfaction. J. T. T. 



ELEGANTISSIMA COMPACTA. 



It is certainly a barren year when the 

 F. B. Pierson Co., Tarrytown, N. Y., does 

 not have a new fern to offer. Since the 

 advent of Piersoni they have been busy 

 raising new variations of the ever-popu- 

 lar nephrolepis. This year it is Superb- 

 issima which is being distributed, and 

 it is curious to note that this sort re- 

 ceived a more favorable reception in 

 England when exhibited there as a nov- 

 elty than it did in this country, although 

 it must not be inferred that it is not well 

 thought of here. The Royal Horticul- 

 tural Society of England gave it its 

 first-class certificate. 



For next year the Pierson Co. has 

 another novelty in the Nephrolepis Ele- 

 gantissima compacta. The name tells the 

 whole story, except that Mr. Pierson be- 

 lieves that, considering commercial pos- 

 sibilities, this fern is the best one yet 

 raised on their place. It stands in the 

 same relation to Elegantissima that Scot- 

 tii stands to Boston. The plant throws 

 a great many more crowns than Ele- 

 gantissima and forms an exceptionally 

 bushy, round, compact and symmetrical 

 plant. They have devoted more than 

 two years to working up stock and have 

 plants in all the way from 2*4 -inch to 

 10-inch pots, all of which retain the habit 

 as shown in the accompanying illustra- 

 tion. 



Utica, N. Y. — In fulfillment of his 

 promise to the children of the Mande- 

 ville Street School, F. J. Baker recently 

 gave prizes of Boston ferns to the two 

 pupils who grew the best nasturtiums. 



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