Like plumed soldiers on parade, some garden geraniums (a form of Pelargonium hortorum) hold their heads erect, while others, with long-stemmed flowers, appear to nod in greeting.
Whether bedded out in the open ground, lined along a walk, or placed as sentinels in selected spots, the geranium is a beloved plant everywhere.
All are suitable for gardens and that is why they are called garden geraniums.
Window and porch boxes often contain .choice plants of various hues that blend with their surroundings. When planting geraniums in boxes, take them out of their pots and transfer them immediately to well-prepared soil.
In this way, roots will have room to spread, which in turn enables the plants to develop their tops. Sinking potted plants into a box causes constriction of root growth. Then the gardener will find it necessary to watch his plants more carefully, for they will need regular feeding.
Geraniums to most people are mostly scarlet, with some salmon-pink and an occasional white. For this reason, I feel compelled to remark that geraniums seen in public parks and cemeteries are inexpensive because they are produced by the thousands.
Why can’t Other Kinds of Geraniums be Produced Wholesale?
I am fully aware of the problems of wholesale growers, who must produce those that are rugged enough for ‘mass planting. But must the colors be monotoned scarlet and more or less the same salmon pink?
I do not quarrel with Alphonse Ricard, which has been grown for nearly 60 years, nor with Fiat, Camden Pride, S. A. Nutt, or Irvington Beauty. All are sturdy and floriferous, but why not give them a well-earned vacation.
Let them rest awhile and continue to sire as they have done in the past. There are dozens of other varieties of different hues to replace them for a time. If a thousand plants are needed, why not have 200 each of a different shade rather than a thousand of one color?
Considering Possibilities
Alexian Beauty, with rich velvety, dark red, long-stalked flowers; Wicked Lady, a newcomer, with wine-red blended gleaming flowers, desirable as a cut flower because of its long stems; Carlton Glory, with the best pure red flowers produced to date; and the old French cultivar, Nuit Poitevine, with the darkest red flowers of all.
Madame Charles Pomaret has huge trusses of deep scarlet flowers. On the lighter side are such distinctive kinds as the rosy purple-flowered Marquis de Mont-mart; Mons. Emile David, with enormous clusters of purple-rose flowers; Measures Beauty (mistakenly called American Beauty), with American Beauty red flowers; and Mary Ellen, with large clusters of cerise flowers.
Among the rose and pink-flowered geraniums are such handsome subjects as the sturdy, glowing, rose-colored Mrs. Richard F. Glocde; Porcelain Rose, and the blended Multicolor. Lighter in color are Barbara Hope, Gertrude Pearson, Mrs. Lawrence, Pink Hydrangea, with very long flower stalks, and the lovely long-stalked, soft pink Patricia Audette.
A charming ribbon-like mosaic can be achieved by planting in a row Dryden with light red and white flowers.
A symphony of orange, apricot, and analogous colors is particularly attractive in a red brick background. Maxime Kovalevski has the brightest orange flowers despite nearing her 50th birthday. Golden Gate is still older and has brassy orange flowers. Lave and a contemporary, Nouvelle Aurore, are softer in tone. Tonal gradations can be further increased by including some newer varieties, such as the light orange-flowered Cuba; Glory, softer in coloring; and Indian Summer, with mellow apricot-orange flowers.
Salmon and related colors are well represented within the group. Mrs. E. G. Hill still heads the salmon color class after 70 years of cultivation. The sturdy Suzanne Leeper, with salmon flowers, has conspicuously zoned leaves.
More delicate in tone are the flowers of Mrs. Lawrence and Peaches & Cream. The newer Natalie Webster, with shaded salmon-pink flowers, is of special interest because of the unusual wine coloring in the leaves.
Distinct Individual Characters of Geraniums
The best white-flowered geraniums to date include double-flowered Gregerson’s White and the single-flowered Olivia Kuser and White Glory, both of which have large rounded petals of pure white. Madame Buchner, with double greenish-white flowers, is still favored by many.
One can scarcely think of white geraniums without visualizing those with red or pink petal margins. These have a charm of their own, suggesting the freshness of early spring. La Fraicheur (mistakenly called Canadian Pink & White, because it was reintroduced by way of Canada) originated in France about 1868.
Not only is it distinctive, but it enjoys the added distinction of being the only double-flowered geranium in its class. Single-flowered kinds include Carmel, with red-edged white petals, and Pink Snow, with pink-edged white petals.
Many other plants within the P. hortorum group are set apart because of distinctive individual characters. Among these are planted with fringed blooms, flower clusters that resemble bouquets of half-open roses, and flowers that have rolled or twisted petals.
Green and White Leaves
Though most green and white and colored leaved geraniums are low growing and excellent subjects for the border, there are a few that grow to medium size. In recent years medium-tall geraniums with colored leaves have been introduced.
In our eastern climate, the pelargonium of gardeners (P. domesticum) is essentially an ornamental potted plant for the sunroom or terrace. They do not flower throughout the summer and fall as garden geraniums do.
This need not deter anyone from planting them in the open ground where they will continue to grow during the summer months. Cuttings can be taken and rooted for growing into plants that will flower the following spring.
The stems of these plants are woodier than those of the garden geranium and, therefore, take longer to root. The flowers of these plants are different from all other classes of pelargoniums.
They are larger and usually heavily painted as though colors were superimposed one upon the other. African Belle has the darkest flowers, purple-black with red edges; Andenken and Carl Faiss have heliotrope flowers, with a violet-black eye on each petal; Schone Illa is bright and colorful, with crimson and pink coloring; and Springtime looks like a red checked blushing bride.
Perhaps the most popular plant is the dwarf Madame Layal, which grows to a foot or taller and produces quantities of small pansy-like flowers.
A Good Time to Obtain Cuttings of Garden Geraniums
Cuttings may be from three to six inches long, and they should be cut with a clean, sharp knife just below a node. Leaves should not be removed except those at the base of the cutting, which is then inserted so that the bottom node is below the soil level.
Rooting mediums vary according to the preferences of growers. The most common is clean, sharp, coarse sand in flats, pans, or benches. A mixture of sand and peat is also used.
Garden loam is also satisfactory, and in this case, the cuttings continue to grow, avoiding the need for transplanting when the roots are a half-inch long.
If cuttings are taken early in the season, they can be rooted outdoors in a previously prepared flower bed in which other kinds of plants are being grown. I have often made cuttings and planted them in the shade of the geranium from which they were taken.
The soil in the flower bed had been well prepared in early spring and contained ample humus and barnyard manure. No chemical fertilizers were included. These plants grew to considerable size and were not disturbed unless they grew too close to the parent plant and were too shaded.
Use Superphosphate
Assuming that available garden loam contains humus and is not too light in texture, it is good for growing the two groups of geraniums under discussion. When potting the plants for winter indoors, mix a generous pinch of superphosphate with the soil, needed for each four-inch pot.
No further feeding will be necessary until the plant becomes root bound and is nearing the flowering stage. It is unwise to transplant a geranium at this stage so feeding at regular intervals is required.
A generous pinch of superphosphate in a four-inch pot about every four weeks is sufficient. The soil should not be dry and it should be watered in.
If a geranium has been grown in the same soil for a long period and the nutrients have been used up by the plant, well-balanced chemical fertilizer is needed. A formula of 4-10-4 or 4-10-6 is recommended.
In our area where we have an abundance of deciduous trees, we compost the fallen leaves and other organic materials, including well-rotted barnyard manure. There is sufficient nitrogen in this material so that additional amounts need not be added in the initial preparation of soil, contrary to opinion notwithstanding.
Only when the soil has become depleted, is it necessary to use nitrogen with phosphates and potash.
44659 by Helen K. Krauss