The geranium - flowering plant

The geranium has been for years, and is likely to remain, the most
popular flowering plant of all, whether for use in summer flower beds or
for the winter window garden. To some people this wide popularity
renders it less desirable, but with those who grow plants for their
intrinsic beauty and not because they may or may not be in vogue the
geranium with its healthy vitality, its attractive foliage and its
simply marvelous range of color and delicate shadings will always be a
favorite. I even venture to predict more; to prophesy that it is going
to be used, as one seldom sees it now, as a cut flower for decorative
purposes. I have grown some of the newer varieties with stems from
twelve to eighteen inches long, supporting enormous trusses of dull red
or the most delicate pink and keeping fresh in vases for days at a time.
I find that very few people, even old flower lovers, have any conception
of the improvement and variety which the last few years have brought,
especially in the wonderful new creations coming from the hands of the
French hybridizers. The latest news is that a German plant-breeder has
produced the first of a new race of Pelargoniums (Pansy or Lady
Washington geraniums) that continues to bloom as long as any of our
ordinary bedding sorts. It has not yet been offered in this country, but
doubtless soon will be, and it will be an acquisition indeed.

The culture of the geranium is simple. For its use as a house plant
there are just two things to keep in mind; first give it a soil which is
a little on the heavy side; that is, use three parts of good heavy loam,
one of manure and one of sand; secondly do not over-water. Keep it on
the "dry side"--(see page 45).

To have geraniums blooming in the house _all_ winter prepare plants in
two ways, as follows: First, in May or June pot up a number of old
plants. Cut back quite severely, leaving a skeleton work of old wood,
well branched, from which the new flowering wood will grow. Keep plunged
and turned during the summer and take off every bud until three or four
weeks before you are ready to take the plants inside. Secondly, in March
or April, start some new plants from cuttings and grow these, with
frequent shifts, until they fill six-or seven-inch pots, but keep them
pinched back to induce a branching growth, and disbudded, until about
the end of December. These will come into bloom after the old plants.

The best time for propagating the general supply of geraniums is from
September 15th to the end of October. Cuttings should be taken from
wood that is as firm and ripe as possible, while still yielding to the
"snapping test" (see page 30). In all stages of growth the geranium is
remarkably free from any insect or disease.

The varieties of geraniums now run into the hundreds--a wonderful
collection. I shall name but a few, all of which I know from my own
experience in selling several thousand every spring, are sure to be
well-liked and good bloomers.