THE CULTIVATION OF PELARGONIUMS.

Otago Witness, Issue 2356, 20 April 1899, Page 7

THE CULTIVATION OF PELARGONIUMS.

MR H. CLARKE'S PAPER, READ BE» FORE THE DUNEDIN HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.

There is in my opinion scarcely anothei flower that has so brilliant an effect and from which so great a return of bloom can be obtained as a good selection of pelargoniums^ Indeed, the same remark applies to a single plant, and when these can be produced a yard across without any very special care, their value is correspondingly increased. Thif valuable plant should find a. place in every gardon, and I shall feel more than repaid for my trouble if what I have to say should" be the means of inducing anyone to grovr them as they should be grown. I propose dealing with them firstly, from seed ; secondly, from the cutting; thirdly, specimen plants; fourlhly, hybridisation, or raising new varieties.

FROM SEED

When bottom heat for tho soil is not obtainable, or a house heated with hot-wator pipes, always sow in the spring. Indeed, thit applies in all cases except when the grower raises his own 3eeds or happens to have them in the autumn. It ia a saving of time when heat is available to sow at once, and grow ob through the winter, in which case they will flower with the rect in summer. The seed should always be sown in shallow pans. Aftei providing for efficient drainage place som« lumps of turf on top of the drainage, then some nicely-sifted soil and leaf-mould, twa parts of the former to one of the latter, and a free admixture of clean, sharp sand. Fill the pan to within an inch of the rim, presi down firmly, sprinkle with water, and let if drain for a while; then sow the soed, and cover with about iin of soil similar to that already used. Place a sheet of glass over the pan, and the operation is completed. The sheet of glass will confine the moisture, and thereby do away with a great deal of watering, as the seeds will not stand much water after sowing until they are through tlr» ground, and then not too much — only suffi' cient to keep the seed bed moipt. When larg< enough to handle, prick out in 2£in pots When they have filled these with roots, poi into 4in pots, using the soil more lumpy a* this potting. Place the plant? in a good position near the glass, and encourage strong growth, but do not top them until they have flowered. Then the good specimens may be grown on, and discard the worthless ones not up to the itandafd varieties.

PROPAGATION BY CUTTINGS. There are few plants that can be more readily increased by means of cuttings than the pelargonium. Every eye of a good ripe cutting can be cut off and rooted in a proper propagating frame; so it will be readily understood what an enormous number of plant? may be grown from a single plant. It is generally by that system they aro propagated when a first-class variety is produced. I do not propose^ however, to deal with the Bingle-joint system, but with propagation, by cutting. There are two proper seasons for striking cuttings— summer and autumn, green and ripe. I prefer taking nice half-ripe cuttings about S'ebruary. Take your cuttings off with about foul or five joints, cutting immediately below an eye or joint, preparing thorn all first ; then take some sin or 6jn pots crock them properly by placing a piceo t o£ broken crock over thft bottom of the pot, then placa an inch of email crocks over the single piece, follow with some rough lumps of turf, then some nice, fine loam and sand well mixed together; then get a flat-pointed stick, and insert six or eight cuttings in each pot, make nice and firm, then water with the rose on your can, and the operation is complete. Keep them in a temperature of 50deg to GOdeg, and they will root freely, and when they have made roots a couple of inches long, turn out the ball and separate carefully, and pot singly into 3in pots, using a very small quantity of old manure in the loam, and pofc very firm. "When they are full ot roots, repot into sin or 6in pots. At this potting the soil should have a handful of bone meal, using the turf more lumpy still, and ramming well into the pot with a small rammer, which consists of a piece of wood an inch thick by a foot long. Plants properly treated may be expected to measure from 12in to 20in a.crosr the first year, and be something the grower may be proud of. The same treatment will apply to green or early summer cuttings, but the grower must be sure not to use too much water or give too little ventilation, or thej may damp off. When the cutting; have started into growth, pinch out the point to induce them to break out low down, to make your future specimen. GROWING SPECIMEN PLANTS FOR

EXHIBITION.

We shall BuppoEC we are in February, and have got some nice strong plants that have been put out of doors to ripen. Cut them down below the old flowering wood into nics ripe wood, and tak< them inside ot turn them on their Bides to exclude ths water until they have made a growth of about threequarters of an inch. They should have sprinklings ot water overhead to induce them to make thig break or growth. Take them to the potting

bench, and turn them out of their pots, then Bhake out nearly all the old soil and trim the roots rather sparingly, and replace in pots a Bize smaller than the ones they came out of, ramming the soil very firmly. The soil should consist of three parts of good turf, broken up in pieces about the size of walnuts, with the addition of one part made up of old manure, leaf mould, and Band, with a handful of bone meal, thoroughly mixed together. This will grow them to perfection. As the potting is finished, replace the plants on the stage of the house as near the glass as possible to prevent their being drawn up weakly. As the shoots get long enough, tram them out as low as the rim of the pot. They should be wintered in a light house with plenty of ventilation both day and night, so long as the weather keeps mild, but with no bottom vent on a very cold, windy day. The temperature most suitable is as near 45deg as possible. In the winter time do not give too much water, just enough to keep the soil moist, but not wet, or the roots will be injured and trouble will be sure to ensue. If they have been doing well they will be raady to have their points pinched out by May, then by the end of the month they should have their final potting, which Bhould be in Bin pots ; but if very large specimens are wanted, 9in, or at the outside lOir, which is large enough for anything. If they are wanted to flower early, they will not require stopping again, but if wanted for later, say the middle of February, they should be stopped again in August, and as the days get longer they should be encouraged to make growth by closing the bottom vents while the pun is on the glass iv the afternoon, and ag soon as the flower buds are forming they should bo assisted with a little manure water once a week" — one of liquid manure to ton of water — until they begin to open their flowers. Now a sharp watch muEt be kept for green fly, and as soon as it is seen fumigation must begin by filling the house with tobacco smoke. This must be stopped before the flowers open, or they will drop off through the effects of the smoke. As soon as they have done flowering they may be stood outside, as already advised, for ripening, as in the preceding summer. I may say Before leaving this subject that there is^scarcely anything makes a better or more satisfactory display than a good bed of pelargoniums in a nice sunny spot out-side. POLLINATION. OR HOW TO CROSS PLANTS.

- Pollination is the art of conveying pollen from the anther to the stigma. The chief requirements of pollinating flowers is to know the parts of the flower itself. The outer or the green portion of the flower is called the calyx, the inner and more showy part the corolla. There are numbers of flowers with no calyx at all, such as the lily family. The most important parts of the flower, however, to one who wishes to make crosses, or pollinate plants, are the stamens and pistils, the tips or enlarged portion of which contain anther and stigma. The anther carries the pollen a-ad the stigma must receive it. We are now familiar with- the different portions of the flow.er. The proper method in all cases if you wish to get a better product than the one you operate upon is to cover up the flower ia a way I shall explain. When the flower is nearly open the anthers must be removed with a sharp-pointed pair of scissors — in lact it is best to remove the petals as well at the same time, though it is not absolutely •.necessary. This is called emasculation. As Boon as this is done, tie up tho flower securely in a bag to protect it from foreign pollen, •which may be carried by flies or any other insects, or even by a breeze of wind. As soon as the stigma is ripe, remove the bag and apply the desired pollen, replacing the bag over the flower, where it must remain until the seeds begin to form, which will take from two days to a- week before the stigma may be in a condition to receive the pollen. Much depends upon the age of the flower when emasculation lakes place, but whatever time you emasculate you must be sure the flower is not quite open to admit infiects as before explained. The manner of emasculation I- have pretty well explained, but there are one or two other points I should like to mention. Where there is a truss of flowers they should be all cut off but two or three. By diverting the whole strength into these you are more likely to get better results than by leaving the whole truss, and when you are emasculating be careful to hold them in a slanting position, so that the anthers shall drop clear of the stigma. Now the pollen-bearing flower needs no operation, but tho flower should be carefully tied up in a paper bag the same as the one prepared to receive it. There are several modes of transferring the pollen to the stigma. Some use a small camel's hair brush, but I prefer a large shawl pin flattened out and nointed. My reasons for liking it in preference to the brush is because it is much easier kepi clean from other pollen. Lift off the pollen carefully from the anthers and place it on the etigma, which should be covered if possible, but if this is too tedious an anther may be taken off carefully with a small pair of tweezers and rub lightly over the stigma, which will answer the same purpose if care is exercised. This done, cover up with a paper bag and tie carefully, and the operation 13 complete.

There is one other necessity — a pocket lens, which will be required Ie examine the flowers to see when they are in their proper condition for operating on. Thus what is wanted is the scissors, the pin, the lens, and the paper bag. On the latter should be written the namo of 'tho different crosses to act as a guide for future operations. The point of the paper bag should be dipped in water, so that it can be the more readily tied in under the flower when required. When the operation is complete, a week's patience will require to bo exercised, then the bags may be taken off and the development of the seeds watched until they are ripe and ready for harvest, which will be two or three weeks longer.