CHAPTER 2% 
SHRUBS 
P HE shrubs of dwarf habit available for 
growing inside in winter are numerous and 
valuable. They include a number of the 
most attractive plants one may have, and as a rule 
will stand more hardships in the way of poor light, 
low temperature and irregular attention than any 
of the other flowering plants. 
They differ from the other flowering plants in 
several ways. They are harder wooded; the rest- 
ing spell is more marked and they make growth and 
store up energy for flowering ahead of the blossom- 
ing season. 
Their differences in habit of growth naturally in- 
volve differences in treatment. In the first place, 
they are harder to propagate; in many cases it is 
better for the amateur to get plants from the flo- 
rist than to try to raise them. This is not such a 
disadvantage as might at first appear, because most 
of them can be kept for several years, only im- 
proving with age. 
The “snapping” test (page 30) will not apply 
to many of the shrubs when taking cuttings. In 
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