September, 1910 



THE CANADIAN HOETIC U LTURIST 



211 



press down firmly with a brick or a small 

 presser made of wood. 



PLANTING THE CUTTINGS 



'J"he box is now ready for the cuttings. 

 Now make a trench or drill with a strip 

 of shingle or thin piece of wood about an 

 inch from the end of the box. The trench 

 should be just wide enough so that the 

 base of the cutting can be inserted easily 

 without bruising the end of the cutting. 



Fully one half of the length of the stem 

 of the cutting must be inserted in the 

 sand. Press the sand firmly around each 

 cutting. The cuttings should be from 

 one to two inches apart according to the 

 size and amount of foliage on the cut- 

 ling. The cuttings are best set in up- 

 right in the sand. A black lead pencil 

 can be u.sed to make holes for cuttings 

 instead of the trench if thought best. 

 Water the cuttings well so as to settle 

 the sand well around them. 



Place the pot or box in a partially 

 shaded position in a temperature of 60° 

 to 75° until the cuttings are rooted. 

 Under a tree out of doors would be a 

 good place during July or August. A 

 window with an east or north asooct is 

 best at this season of the year. The cut- 

 tings should not be fully exposed to the 

 hot sun at any time until rooted. The 

 sand should be kept well moist after, but 

 not soddened with water. 



Coleus and ageratum cuttings will root 

 in a week or ten days, oftentimes. Sal- 

 \ia, petunia and geraniums usually take 

 fully double this time. When roots are 

 about an inch or two in length the cut- 

 tings should be put into soil in boxes 

 or pots. 



A good soil for rooted cuttings can be 

 made by mixing one part sand, one part 

 leaf mould or black soil from the bush, 

 and three parts of enriched loamy soil. 

 Use small two inch pots for this purpose, 

 or put the cuttings about one and a half 

 inches apart into shallow boxes the same 

 as are used for cuttings. 



The cuttings need not be potted at 

 once when rooted, as they will keep good 

 in the sand for some time. They must 

 not be given too much water. The sand 

 should be kept only barely moist. I have 

 kept rooted geranium cuttings in sand 

 for several months by keeping them fairly 

 dry at the roots and in a cool tempera- 

 ture of about 50° to 55°. 



THE SOIL TO U8K 



Cuttings of many plants will root well 

 in sandy soil. For geranium cuttings 

 I have found a mixture of half sand and 

 half potting soil to be as good in sum- 

 iner as all sand. Many cuttings can also 

 be rooted in water but the roots produced 

 in water are usually very soft and tender 

 and do not endure the transfer from 

 water to soil as well as cuttings rooted 

 in sand or sandy soil. 



LENGTHS OF CUTTINGS 



The following is a table of the approxi- 

 mate lengths of cuttings of several 

 species of window plants. The measure- 



ments are given reckoning from the base 

 of the cutting to the terminal point of 

 growth where the stem or petiole of the 

 topmost leaf leaves the main stem, and 

 not from base of cuttings to tips of leaves. 



Geranium 3 to 5 inches 



Salvia 2 to 3 ,, 



Coleus 2 to 4 ,, 



Petunia 2 to 3 ,, 



Ageratum i ^to 3 ,, 



Iresine 2 to 4 ,, 



There is probably no feature of flori- 

 culture more interesting or fascinating 

 in its character than plant propagation 

 from cuttings or slips, especially when 

 success attends the efforts of the plant 

 lover. At this season of the year, when 

 cuttings of plants suitable for this work 

 can be had in profusion, the experiment 

 should prove both interesting and profit- 

 able to all lovers of plants and flowers. 



An Interesting Hybrid 



H. J. Edwardt, Winnipeg, Mu. 



The accompanying two illustrations 

 may be of interest to readers of The 

 Canadian Horticulturist. In 1904 I 

 secured some seeds of Helianthus Cu- 

 cumerifolius Grandiflorus, Giant Star 

 (golden-yellow flowers with intense 

 black centres), and Helianthus (Sun- 

 flower) Primrose Perfection. The seeds 

 which were saved from time to time re- 

 produced true to name, until last year, 

 when I found amongst the Giant Star 

 seedlings a plant which seemed to be 

 much more vigorous than usual, this was 

 carefully transplanted to another part 

 of the garden, and eventually reached a 

 height of about 7 feet. (See illustration 

 No. I.) In foliage and form of growth 

 it resembled a true Helianthus Cucumeri- 

 folius Giant Star, but the flowers showed 

 the markings of the Sunflower (Primrose 

 Perfection). 



Illustration No. 1. (See accompanying Article) 



The flowers of the hybrid were pro- 

 duced on a long straight stem, similar 

 to those of the Giant Star. The centre 

 was dark, and the base and tips of the 

 petals were a rich orange-yellow, the 

 remainder of the petals being a very 

 pale primrose. Illustration No. 2 shows 

 a bloom of the hybrid and one of Giant 

 Star. The former is the largest bloom. 

 The Giant Star usually grows about 

 three to four feet in height, and the 

 flowers measure from four to five inches 

 in diameter. The flowers of the hybrid 

 were fully nine inches in diameter. As 

 I do not remember ever reading cr 

 hearing of such a cross before, it is 

 just possible that some of the readers 

 of The Canadian Horticulturist may be 

 able to give a little light on the subject. 



Geraoium Catting* 



Number one (on left)— Geranium cutting, not piepa red. Numtier two— Geranium cutting, un- 

 dcBirable hard cutting. Number three— Typica Geranium cuttiiiK, ready tor putting in sand. 

 Number four— Rooted Geranium cutting, ready for potting. 



