74 
THE FLORIST AND POMOLOGIST. 
[ April, 
tribe of plants that can do us sucli good service. Amid their glowing brightness 
of colouring we may forget the dead and falling leaves and fading flowers out¬ 
side, and rejoice in a summer-tide of beauty. This is one of those pleasures that 
the shelter of glass ought to provide—the making of a difference between the 
appearance of things within and without, and it is never enjoyed with a keener 
relish than late in the autumn, especially when the dull days are fairly lighted 
up with the glory of Zonal Pelargoniums in full beauty. But “good wine needs 
no bush,” and the cultivation of these plants in pots needs no further advocacy. I 
will, therefore, now give a few plain instructions how to grow them well with 
little trouble. 
Young plants are best, not but what old ones flower as fine or finer. And Pelar¬ 
goniums of this class will live and thrive for nobody knows how many years. 
But as the plants grow so fast, and look best for most purposes in 8-in. pots, 
there is no reason for keeping the same plant for more than eighteen months or 
two years. Strong cuttings may be inserted, one in a pot, in June or July. Or a 
few healthy plants may be potted from the general stock at bedding-out time in 
Majq and these pushed on rapidly with manure-water, and stopped every month till 
September for flowering in 6-in. or 8-in. pots in October or November. But it is 
the better plan not to flower the plants the first season. Shift the cuttings as 
soon as rooted into a larger pot; as soon as it has made two or three leaves stop 
it, two or three more stop it again, and so on throughout the season. If the 
plants grow fast, they may need two shifts before the middle of September, but 
they should not be wintered the first season in pots larger than 4-in. or 5-in. in 
diameter. From first to last the cuttings should stand full in the sunshine, out 
of doors. Of course, they will require liberal watering. It is best to plunge the 
pots in cinder-ashes, to check evaporation. All flowers are also to be picked off 
as they appear, and no dead leaves should be seen. 
Towards the middle or end of September, house the plants for the winter, 
placing them near the glass in a temperature of from 40° to 50°, and keep them 
rather dry. The less growth the plants make till the following March the better. 
The object of all the foregoing treatment has been to laj^the foundation of the 
plants strong and sure. It needs caution in winter to hinder this strength from 
being dissipated into growth, in the absence or weakness of that great source of 
all strength, the sun. When he arises to shine in force, the plants may be 
p3rmitted to move on. When the tops have grown an inch or so, give the pot- 
bound roots a fresh run in 5-in. or 6-in. pots, carefully removing all the 
exhausted earth possible, and slightly unwinding the matted roots, so as to give 
them a good chance of getting hold of the new earth. When the roots have 
got a good grip of the earth, and the shoots have made a leaf or two, stop 
them again. About the end of April or beginning of May, give the plants their 
final shift into 8-in., or if wanted very large, into 10-in. or 12-in. pots. But 
beware of over-potting, which is positively injurious, alike in an artistic and 
cultural point of view. What looks worse than a comparatively scant head 
