PLANT PROPAGATION 



Black-cap raspberry plants are propagated by means of root 

 tips. In late summer, as the long branches bend over with their 

 weight and reach the ground, the ends become much enlarged by 

 the storage of an extra supply of plant food in them, and a strong 

 terminal bud is formed. Upon touching the ground the end 

 curves upward, and just back of the curve, if the soil is moist, 

 roots form and a new plant becomes established. 



45. Propagation by separation and division. Excellent ex- 

 amples of propagation by separation and division are to be 

 found in bulbs (like the 

 hyacinth and tulip), and 

 in the rootstocks of the 

 canna or in the crowns 

 of the lily-of-the-valley. 

 Bulbs may be wounded 

 by hollowing out the 

 lower part, thus causing 

 a large number of little 

 bulbs to form. These 

 smaller bulbs are taken 

 off and cultivated for 

 from four to eight years, 



A, a cleft graft, or scion (usually cut about four to six 



When they Will produce inches long) ; B, grafts set so as to come in contact 



with the growing tissues of the stock plant ; C, the 



wound covered with grafting wax, to protect against 



infection and drying or other injury 



FIG. 23. Stem grafting 



good flowers. As for 



the rootstocks, they are 



merely broken (or cut) 



into pieces, care being taken to see that each part contains a 



bud from which a new plant may grow. 



46. Propagation by cuttings. Many plants may be cut into 

 pieces, and each piece caused to take root and thus to form 

 a new plant. The last season's growth of grapevines and of 

 most ornamental shrubs can easily be made to root in this way. 



Bedding plants like geranium (Fig. 21), coleus, and heliotrope 

 are propagated by means of pieces of the stem known as green 

 or softwood cuttings. This method is employed extensively in 

 propagating bedding and other ornamental plants. 



