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.
Geranium Varieties
S. A. Nutt leads them all. It is the richest, darkest crimson—usually ordered as "the darkest red." It is a great bloomer, but one word of caution where you grow your own plants:—You must keep it cut back and make it branch, otherwise it will surely grow up tall and spindling. E. H. Trego is the most brilliant of the reds that I have grown. Marquis de Castellane is the richest of the reds—a dull, even, glowing color with what artists term "warmth" and "depth." The trusses are immense and the stems long, stiff and erect. It is the best geranium for massing in bouquets that I know.
Beauté Potevine is the richest, most glorious of the salmon pinks—perhaps the most popular of all the geraniums as a pot plant for the house. It is a sturdy grower and a wonderful bloomer.
Dorothy Perkins is a strong growing bright pink, with an almost white center. Very attractive.
Roseleur is one of the most lovely delicate pinks. Mme. Récamier, perhaps the best of the double whites, making a very compact, sturdy plant.