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CULTURE OF FAVORITE PLANTS. 
but very rarely from seeds, as it is too slow a process, requiring three or four years to 
obtain a good specimen. They are easily cultivated as house plants, and are recommended 
to amateurs as choice beauties, well worthy of their attention. 
NO GERANIUM. 
Geranium in all its varieties is one of the most satisfactory among 
house-plants, being admirably adapted for either window, parlor, 
greenhouse or garden culture. They run through various shades 
of color. Of the reds, the deep or blood tints are much handsomer 
» than the paler or orange reds, and the pink and white are both deli- 
‘ cate and pure. The double ones do not drop their petals like the 
single ones, yet some of the single ones hold their own well, and bear very 
broad trusses. The single white are many times very fickle, scarce holding 
the first flower until the second unclasps, which is very provoking if a full 
cluster for a bouquet is desired. It is well to make this inquiry when pur- 
chasing plants, for where there is a difference the labor might as well be ex- 
pended on those that will give the most lasting pleasure. We have one plant, 
a deep cherry color, that holds its blossoms nearly a month, with from thirty to forty 
florets ina truss. Geraniums are rather herbaceous in growth, their stems being a grayish 
green, and but slightly woody. When grown in the house during summer they should be 
given plenty of air to ripen their stalks, as they withstand the cold better. Those that 
blossomed in summer can be buried in a dry pit and covered with a foot of leaves, or 
kept in the cellar in an entirely dark place, free from frost, and require little or no water; 
We say entirely dark, as in a partial light they develop a useless, spindling growth. They 
can also be wintered at a window, if the space is not wanted for blooming other plants, 
the watering being governed by their needs. For future outdoor decoration large plants 
may be pulled up by the roots, the loose soil shaken off, the green wood and leaves 
trimmed back to the ripe wood, and the green cuts carefully powdered with charcoal and 
air-slacked lime, when the whole may be hung up in a dark place free from frost. In the 
spring the plants should be withdrawn from their retreat, trimmed back considerably, 
repotted if necessary, and given a little special attention, when they will very soon grow. 
Geraniums are among the easiest plants to slip. They must have two joints at least, 
and three would be better, the cutting being just at the third. They are less apt to damp 
or rot off if laid aside for two or three days in the shade before planting, as by that time 
the broken end heals over, or forms a scar, which prevents the sap from escaping. They 
are then ready for planting. Many, however, put them down entirely fresh. Some 
kinds can also be started in wet sand, and set on the window-sill in the sun, in which 
case the sand must be kept always sopping wet, like mud, the slips being potted as soon 
as the roots are assured; but the fleshy, succulent varieties require less water. They 
can also be rooted in soil. For ourselves, not wanting many at a time, we stick them 
down in pots of our large plants, close. to the side of the pot, where the slope of the 
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