290 AMERICAN HOMES AND GARDENS 
RE 
The Geranium blooms freely at all stages of growth. ‘The illustration to the left shows plants in their first pots. 
August, 1912 
or 
That to the right, a 
7 
plant of 
the Silver-Leafed S. A. Nutt Geranium, dark red flowers and soft green foliage edged with creamy white. This is one of the most satisfactory 
as a cut-flower—a use to which it was not formerly adapted, 
but for which it has, I believe, a promising future, espe- 
cially on account of the long-keeping quality of the blooms. 
Geraniums for potting 
cutting overcome this to a large extent, it is more satisfac- 
tory to know that some progress has been made, through 
crossing the Ivies with the zonals, to control the habit of 
The scented-leaved sorts have long been favorites. The growth. ‘There is no doubt that the Ivies are destined, in 
old popular Rose Geranium is re- 
corded as a favorite as far back as 
1690. There is a good variety of 
odors and leaf-forms, all very at- 
tractive, but more recent introduc- 
tions have shown improvements in 
the plant form and size of flower,— 
the two objectionable characteris- 
tics which this class has had. Some 
of the new sorts are described more 
fully at the end of this article. 
Then there are the variegated 
and tri-colored foliage sorts grown 
chiefly on account of their decora- 
tive quality. With these the flowers 
are for the most part shy and small, 
but a few of the newer ones, espe- 
cially Silver-leafed S. A. Nutt, are 
as valuable for their flowers as for 
their foliage. The one named 
makes a most striking and hand- 
some plant. 
Old varieties of all these types 
are familiar to most of us, but the 
newer races of Ivy-leaved, Cyclops 
and Cactus-flowered, especially the 
last two, are as yet comparatively 
unknown here. Among the Ivy- 
leafed sorts, remarkable for the 
beauty of texture and form of their 
leaves, are to be found the most 
delicate shades of color, especially 
in the blush pinks and lilacs, so far 
attained in Geraniums. There is 
one thing that has kept the Ivies 
from becoming more popular as pot 
plants, and that is their tendency 
to a lanky or trailing habit of 
growth. While proper culture and 
Geraniums ready for pruning 
Geraniums after pruning 
the near future, to achieve very gen- 
eral popularity. 
The “Cyclops” strain has been 
reached through a long continued 
selection for the secondary color, 
usually white, in the blossom. ‘The 
result has been a race of strong 
flowers of good habits, in which the 
center or “eye” is a distinct shade 
from the body of the petals, and 
even a contrasting color to them. 
Others are marked in various strik- 
ing and distinct ways, and on the 
whole this strain will do much to 
add variety to Geraniums, making 
more material for ‘‘collections,” 
which is, of course, a thing to be 
desired. 
The ‘“‘Cactus”’ type is the most dis- 
tinct and interesting “break” the 
Geranium has shown, the petals be- 
ing narrow and curled and twisted 
like those of a Cactus Dahlia. The 
growth of the plant is rather dwarf 
but robust, and the wonderfully 
beautiful blooms are borne in great 
profusion. These new sorts, orig- 
inating in England but a few years 
ago, are particularly adapted for 
pot plants or veranda boxes, vases, 
etc., and will undoubtedly do much 
to attract to the Geranium the at- 
tention it deserves in this country. 
TYPES FOR DIFFERENT USES. 
With this wealth of form, color 
and habit of growth, it is small won- 
der that the Geranium has as wide 
a range of uses as any plant grown. 
Without the slightest monotony of 
