164 Culture of Pelargoniums, 



then remove them into the open air to remain during sum- 

 mer. Plants thus raised will flower well the second year, and 

 many new and beautiful varieties may be obtained. 



Plants kept long in pots grow naked and stunted, and require 

 to be headed down to within a few inches of the pot ; when this 

 is done, set them in the shade, and give no water for a week 

 before and one after the operation ; this prevents the plants 

 From bleeding, which often destroys them altogether. About 

 the latter end of October, or on the first appearance of frost, 

 the plants raised from seed, from cuttings, or from roots, and 

 kept in small pots during summer, should be placed in the 

 frame, with a few inches of coal ashes below the pots to pre- 

 vent the plants from suffering from damp during winter. 

 Shut up the frames closely at night, and give air freely 

 during the day. As the winter advances, give water sparingly; 

 and pick off all decayed leaves as they appear. Cover all 

 round the frame with about a foot of soil pressed close, and 

 nearly level with the glass ; sloping a little, to carry off the 

 wet. When the frost sets in, cover with mats at night ; and 

 when the weather is very severe, use a straw mat, and over 

 all a wooden shutter, a little larger than the frame. Give air 

 every day when mild, and in severe weather uncover the 

 frame when the sun's rays fall upon it, taking care to cover 

 when the sun leaves it in the evening. As the spring advances, 

 give air more freely, by sliding down the sash altogether in 

 the daytime, to prepare the plants for being turned out of 

 the pots, and transplanted into the flower-garden ; which 

 may be done about the beginning of May, if the weather is 

 seasonable. Let them be planted about 2 ft. apart. They will 

 come into flower by the latter end of May, and continue to 

 flower with great beauty and splendour until the latter end of 

 October. 



In 1830, at Rose Hill, the pelargoniums continued to 

 flower until the middle of November. By this method a con- 

 stant supply may be kept up, at a very moderate expense. 

 When large plants are wanted, such as have been transplanted 

 during summer may be taken up carefully about the be- 

 ginning of October, and planted in large pots. They should 

 then be set in the shade for a week or two, and given water 

 plentifully. Plants treated in this way frequently flower all 

 the winter, but generally come into flower by the beginning 

 of March. Robert Elliott. 



Rose Hill, near Whitehaven, 

 March 31. 1831. 



