146 How to frofagate Shrubs. 



HOW TO PROPAGATE SHRUBS. 



By Francis Parkman, Jamaica Plain, Mass. 



You have, perhaps, some favorite shrub which you wish to multiply, 

 for yourself or your friends. The process is usually simple and easy ; 

 varying, however, with the nature of the shrub in question. 



Division. — First, you may dig it up, tear it apart, or divide the 

 roots with an axe, knife, or saw. In this way you will sometimes get a 

 score of small shrubs from one large one. Or, if you do not wish to 

 remove the original plant, you may often sever from it, without dis- 

 placing it, small stems with roots attached. Some shrubs, such as 

 calycanthus, rose acacia, bladder nut, clethra, and many more, throw 

 out suckers from the root, which, if taken up and re-set, readily make 

 new plants. Besides the above, some of the shrubs propagated most 

 easily by root-division, are the deutzias, hydrangeas, symphorias, spi- 

 rseas, lilacs, syringas, dwarf almond, Chinese plum, japan quince 

 {Cydonia jfaponica)^ and some species of cytisus. 



Layers. — Next in simplicity is the process of laying. This is 

 applicable to by for the greater number of shrubs, and is so easy that a 

 boy of ten may readily be taught to practise it. It consists in choosing 

 a twig or small branch so situated that it may be bent to the ground, 

 cutting half through it with a knife, and then turning the knife and 

 slitting the branch upward to the distance of about an inch. The 

 branch is next to be bent upward at the part where the slit is made, 

 buried two inches below the surface of the soil, and pegged down with 

 a foi'ked stick. Thus treated, some shrubs will throw out roots, in a 

 few weeks, from the })rojecting tongue of wood at the place where the 

 slit is made. Others root with more dilliculty, and there are instances 

 in which layers must remain two years in the ground. This is often 

 the case with magnolias ; while, on the other hand, a honeysuckle will 

 root almost immediately, and it is not even necessary to tongue the 

 stem, as it is sufficient to give it a slight twist when it is laid in the 

 ground. This checks the flow of sap, and causes an emission of rools 

 at the bruised place. Before putting down layers, the ground should 



