PELARGONIUM

Greenhouse perennial



All kinds of Pelargonium may be raised from seed with the certainty of

giving satisfaction if the work be well done. An amateur, who

contributed to the production of symmetrical flowers in the Zonal

section, found that under ordinary treatment Zonals began to bloom in

one hundred days from the date of sowing the seed, and some of those

that flowered earliest proved to be the finest. The cultivator will soon

discover that one rule is important, and that is to sow seed saved from

really good strains. The simplest greenhouse culture suffices to raise

Pelargoniums from seed. Some growers sow in July or August; others in

January or February. The summer sowing necessitates careful winter

keeping, and the flowers appear earlier than those from spring-sown

seed. But the spring sowing is the easier to manage, and is recommended

to all beginners. Any light, sandy loam will serve for these plants, and

it is well to flower the principal bulk of them in 48-and 32-sized pots,

for if grown to a great size the date of flowering is deferred without

any corresponding advantage.