66 HOUSE PLANTS 



little rosettes which simply have to be taken 

 off and put in sand for a short time. The 

 suckers from the screw pine are taken off, the 

 leaves shortened back to reduce transpira- 

 tion, and then put in the sand like cuttings 

 of other plants. They root in a few weeks. 



PROPAGATING BY RUNNERS 



Runners differ from offsets in that the 

 plant produces a small wiry stem which 

 will form a new plant if the end is covered 

 with soil. The two commonest house plants 

 increased by this method are the strawberry 

 geranium and the sword fern. The straw- 

 berry geranium will form new leaves on these 

 runners before roots are produced, so if 

 there is not a chance to allow them to root 

 in the pot before separating the young 

 plantlets from the mother plant they may 

 be taken off and put in sand like any ordinary 

 cutting. The young ferns must be rooted 

 before being separated from the parent plants. 



MAKING NEW RUBBER PLANTS 



A well-kept rubber plant will in a couple 

 of years become too ungainly for the house. 

 Many times one does not care to part with 



