IN MY LADY'S GARDEN 



of charcoal in lumps should then be placed in the pot, cover- 

 ing the slit in the stem (which should be kept open by 

 inserting a small piece of broken glass into it) with a mixture 

 of good compost and charcoal (without manure of any sort, 

 however) until the pot is half-full. The upper half may 

 then be filled with moss, preferably sphagnum (as this holds 

 moisture the best), and the contents of the pot must never 

 be allowed to become dry, whilst the roots of the plants (in 

 the original pot) should be almost starved, to induce root- 

 lets to be thrown out from above the slit stem into the 

 moisture of the upper pot. 



When this takes place, and the young roots appear below 

 the pot, the stem just below it should be gradually severed, 

 and the rooted plant can be repotted. But the growth of 

 these rootlets can be encouraged (as soon as they are 

 observed to have started) by removing the moss which 

 filled the upper half of the pot, and substituting for it 

 rich compost ; and the plant should not be repotted until 

 this soil is full of roots. 



The bare stem of the dracaena (or ficus) left without its 

 foliage can then be utilised to obtain a number of young 

 plants. It should be laid horizontally in a hot-bed, cutting 

 the whole length of the stem in notches, so that each piece 

 contains an eye, half-severed from the rest of the stem, 

 and covering these places lightly with a mixture of fine 

 compost and charcoal ; when a young plant will start from 

 each separate incision if the whole be kept warm and moist. 

 The best time for this work is in April, when the full power 

 of the summer sunshine will be available for some months, 

 and stem-rooting should always be carried out under glass, 

 choosing a warm and sheltered corner for the operation. 



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