338 AROUND THE YEAR IN THE GARDEN 



be kept disbudded in summer, will bloom inside during the 

 fall and winter. 



The operation of making the cuttings is very simple. Use 

 a sharp knife, so that it will make a clean, neat cut, leaving 

 no bruises or ragged edges. The cuttings should be made, 

 for most kinds of plants, from two to four or five inches 

 long. If the wood is in the right condition several may be 

 made from the same branch. The cutting may be taken off 

 just below a joint or between the joints, depending on where 

 the wood is the best. If it is cut off slightly slanting the 

 slip may be more readily pushed down into the sand, but 

 it will root just as well if cut straight across. The leaves 

 should be removed from the lower part of the cutting, and 

 those near the top, if large, should be cut back about half. 

 This is to lessen the possibility of their wilting, which should 

 be guarded against while the cutting is forming new roots. 

 Cuttings or slips are sometimes broken off, instead of cut off, 

 and though they frequently root, this is not so sure a 

 method as the other. In early summer, when conditions 

 are favorable, whole branches of geraniums that have been 

 accidentally broken off may be rooted by simply sticking 

 them into the moist soil of the bed out-of-doors. After 

 cuttings have been made they may be kept a reasonable 

 length of time before being used, but they should not be 

 exposed to hot sunshine or allowed to become dry. If they 

 are wilted badly when ready to be used they may be revived 

 by allowing them to soak in clear, cold water. 



If the plants from which the cuttings are taken are in- 

 fested with insects or scale of any kind get the cuttings 

 absolutely clean before you attempt to root them. This 

 may be accomplished by dipping them quickly several 

 times in water heated to about 150 degrees, or by rinsing 

 them in a nicotine spray solution, and rinsing them after- 

 ward, in either case, in clear, cold water. As a rule, how- 

 ever, cuttings should be taken only from perfectly healthy 

 plants in vigorous condition of growth. 



