P. hortorum
By 1860 hybridists were producing hybrids which could be said to be the forerunners of the modern geranium. A race of double flowers was produced in 1864 by the famous breeder Victor Lemoine, in his nursery at Nancy, which was the result of a sport. By 1869 Lemoine was listing 70 varieties of doubleflowered geraniums. In 1871 a considerable cash prize was offered for the first double white, which gives some idea of the interest and the demand for geranium varieties. The most famous of all was raised by Monsieur Crampel at his geranium nursery at Nancy. Realising he had raised a plant of considerable commercial value, he commenced propagating a large stock from cuttings, without allowing any of the plants to bloom, thus keeping secret the beauty of this new variety and reducing the possibility of theft. When he had filled several greenhouses and was ready to market the plant, it was allowed to bloom and introduced to the public in 1903. The plants were sold at over £1 each. At the time the red-flowered ' H e n r y Jacoby' was the most popular variety and Covent Garden was, as often, rather conservative, with the result that it was a few years before 'Paul СгатреГ took pride of place, but eventually by 1910 it was recognised as the finest geranium in the world and has remained popular even to this day, despite the many superior cultivars which have since been raised.
