Page:The Amateur's Greenhouse and Conservatory.djvu/146

136 weather use a little fire-heat to admit of the ventilators being opened for a short time during the early part of the day, rather than keep them closed for fear of the house getting too cold. It is an important matter not to deprive the plants of a breath of fresh air for the sake of a few shovelfuls of firing, when air can be admitted without injury.

If carefully wintered they will flower freely from early in March until the following May, or longer, if required. They are, however, not required after the middle of the last-mentioned month for conservatory decoration, as varieties with more highly finished flowers will be coming freely into bloom. About the middle of May place the plants in a dry airy house, where they will receive just sufficient protection from frost. Early in June place them out of doors on a bed of coal-ashes to ripen the wood, and immediately that is accomplished cut the shoots back to three or four buds each, in the same manner as other varieties. Let them remain on the bed of ashes until the young shoots are about half an inch long, and then shake out, carefully prune the roots, and repot in six- or eight-inch pots, in which they will remain until the next year. When potted, they should be placed in a cold frame, and have the freest ventilation possible. The lights should only be put on in wet weather, and then they should be tilted back and front, the object being merely to protect the plants from becoming too wet at the roots. No stopping will be required after the first shoots have had the points nipped off, as these varieties have a very compact branching habit, and bushy well-shaped specimens can be obtained without excessive pinching and stopping. In September they must go to the greenhouse, and from that time receive the attention advised for the young stock the previous season.

To secure a good bloom of forced geraniums in October is easy enough, but there must be no stint of care in summer and no stint of firing in winter. Make and manage the plants, as advised above for flowering them in March. Put them in a cold frame at the end of May, and thence remove them to a bed of ashes in the open in June, pinch out the points of all the shoots the first week of July, and carefully shift them into one size larger pots in the last week of July. House them in September near the glass and give plenty of air. As the weather becomes dull and damp, start the tire gently and give air with more caution. They are not to be hard forced, but