120 



MANUAL OF GARDENING 



Green cuttings. 



Softwood or greenwood cuttings are usually made of wood 

 that is mature enough to break when it is bent sharply. When 

 the wood is so soft that it will bend and not break, it is too 

 immature, in the majority of plants, for the making of good 

 cuttings. 



One to two joints is the proper length of a greenwood cutting. 



If of two joints, the lower leaves 

 should be cut off and the upper 

 leaves cut in two so that they do 

 not present their entire surface to 

 the air and thereby evaporate the 

 plant juices too rapidly. If the cut- 

 ting is of only one joint, the lower 

 end is usually cut just above a joint. 

 In either case, the cuttings are usu- 

 ally inserted in sand or well-washed 

 gravel, nearly or quite up to the leaves. Keep the bed uniformly 

 moist throughout its depth, but avoid any soil which holds so 

 much moisture that it becomes muddy and sour. These cuttings 

 should be shaded until they begin to emit their roots. Coleus, 

 geraniums, fuchsias, carnations, and nearly all the common 

 greenhouse and house plants, are propagated by these cuttings 

 or slips (Figs. 123, 124). 



Cuttings of leaves. 



Leaf-cuttings are often used for the fancy-leaved begonias, 

 gloxinias, and a few other plants. The young plant usually 

 arises most readily from the leaf-stalk or petiole. The leaf, 

 therefore, is inserted into the ground much as a green cutting 

 is. Begonia leaves will throw out young plants from the main 

 ribs when these veins or ribs are cut. Therefore, well-grown 

 and firm begonia leaves are sometimes laid flat on the sand and 



124. Verbena cutting. 



