AUGUST. 
225 
FANCY PELARGONIUMS. 
(Plate 129 .) 
Among the catalogue of florists’ flowers, there is none in the 
cultivation of which so great a stride has been made during the 
last few years as is witnessed in Fancy Pelargoniums. When 
we remember the flowers of this class of Pelargonium, as they 
appeared a few years since, with their narrow petals resembling 
the sails of a windmill—so deficient were they in form—and 
compare them with the beautiful symmetry of the flowers in the 
])resent day, we shall then see what the florist has accomplished 
in this pleasing tribe of plants—a class which has now become 
universal favourites, and justly so, as they' present every hue of 
colour, and with a succession of plants may be made to furnish 
an attractive display of flower all the year round. Time was 
when they were a weak and sickly race, requiring more than 
ordinary care in their management; but now, thanks to the enter¬ 
prising exertions of the hybridiser, we have robust, free-flowering 
habits conjointly with finely-formed flowers, which will Bear the 
same treatment as the larger varieties. The Fancy Pelargonium 
may in fact be called a perpetual-flowering plant. If the trusses 
are taken off* immediately the flowers have withered, and the 
plant be repotted, it will come into flower again in the course of a 
few weeks, and continue to bloom the whole of the winter, the 
assistance of a slight artificial heat being necessary at this season. 
A little exertion in this way will amply repay the trouble taken 
and the care bestowed, for there is scarcely a plant that will make so 
good a display for the greenhouse or conservatory However, to grow 
the plants well, some good management is requisite. In the first 
place, it is essential strong and healthy cuttings be selected, which, 
when cut into lengths, say from two to three inches long, should 
be inserted round the edges of well-drained pots filled with a 
light compost, having at least one-third silver sand incorporated 
with it. As soon as the cuttings are rooted, pot them off* into 
small pots, employing a sweet fibrous loam with an admixture of 
rotten manure and sand, taking care to well drain the pots, as in 
the case of the cuttings. As soon as the giowth which will be 
developed attains the length of three inches, pinch out the centre 
of the shoot or shoots, when they will be found to break right to 
the bottom of the plant, taking care to keep them rather dry while 
undergoing this process. As soon as the strength of the plants 
admits of it, tie out the side shoots, and shift the plants into 
larger pots as soon as they reach the outside of those in which 
they are growing. Pots from six to eight inches diameter are 
VOL. X., NO. cxvi. Q 
