HERB 



HERB 



1465 



1821. 'A tame-wild corner, asparagus and boneset. 



by reason of their greater seed-production. In gen- 

 eral, propagation by seeds is satisfactory for all estab- 

 lished species and for such varieties and forms as have 

 been thoroughly established by selection. 



Seed-sowing is not, however, always an easy way to 

 increase many of our garden plants, as there are often 

 a few small items necessary to know concerning a 

 species before success can be assured. Seeds of some 

 perennials remain dormant for a long period after sow- 

 ing, and, in general, they are very much slower in 

 starting than annuals. Some require more heat than 

 others to germinate, while others require a very cool 

 soil. Many plants brought into cultivation from foreign 

 countries or milder parts of our own land do not pro- 

 duce seed that will remain sound over winter hi the 

 earth, nor do seedlings of all hardy perennials with- 

 stand the colder season: for example, Papaver orientate, 

 a hardy plant itself, produces a great quantity of seed 

 which germinates readily as it falls, but the seedlings 

 will not survive the winter in the northern United 

 States unprotected. 



A general rule for seed-sowing would 

 read: Sow the seed when ripe, and then 

 maintain such conditions of temperature 

 and moisture as the seed would receive in 

 the native habitat of the plant. Native 

 American plants not from decidedly milder 

 parts, and many foreign species, may be 

 easily increased by sowing of seed when 

 ripe in the open ground. Among such might 

 be included rudbeckia, aquilegia, coreopsis, 

 monarda, asters (perennial), delphiniums, 

 digitalis, Dianthus barbatus, and phlox, all 

 of which will bloom the following season. 



Plants usually have one or rarely two 

 particular seasons for blooming, and unless 

 of sufficient size and suitable condition 

 when that season approaches, they will 

 wait for its recurrence before showing 

 flowers, so that by sowing seed early in 

 the spring and giving good cultural atten- 

 tion to the plants, we may expect to 

 flower the first year many plants naturally 

 blooming late in the year, or such as are 

 somewhat floriferous at nearly all seasons: 

 for example, Lobelia cardinalis and other 

 lobelias, many of the native asters, Gail- 



lardia aristata var. grandiflora, 

 Bellis perennis, hollyhocks, platy- 

 c o d o n, delphiniums, hardy 

 chrysanthemums, salvias, rud- 

 beckia, dahlias. See Seeds, Vol. 

 VI. 



Propagation by division is 

 simply the separation of a larger 

 clump of roots and crowns into 

 smaller plants. In the case of 

 plants producing buds on the 

 roots, this division may be car- 

 ried further, and small pieces of 

 the root used to grow other plants. 

 The separation of plants as 

 practised in the garden is not 

 usually so much for the purpose 

 of increase as to avoid over- 

 crowding of roots and crowns, 

 with loss of vigor to the plant; 

 for example, a plant of iris, hav- 

 ing been undisturbed for a num- 

 ber of years, becomes a tangled 

 circular mat of rootstocks, which 

 in the center cannot find room 

 to grow, and so the plant appears 

 as a large mass of rootstocks, 

 throwing up foliage only on the 

 outer ring. The period in which 

 a plant may remain in any one place without needing 

 separation will vary with the vigor of growth of the plant 

 in each position; a group of plantain lily in a favorable 

 situation will need separation every two years, while in 

 a poorer place it might remain four. However, the aver- 

 age length of time for a few typical species may be 

 given thus: Bellis perennis, pompon chrysanthemums, 

 and other strong-spreading, shallow-rooted and easily 

 established plants do best with yearly separation; 

 Phlox maculata and monarda every two years; helian- 

 thus, asters and many of the compositae and Phlox 

 decussata about every three years; Convattaria majalis 

 and many spring-flowering bulbs every four years; 

 such plants as peonies may be left for a longer period. 



In general, better flowers are secured from a plant 

 with but one crown than when two or more are left, but 

 unless the new growths are crowding out the central 

 parts or are themselves too numerous to make a vig- 

 orous growth possible, division is not necessary. In 

 fact, many plants require a better establishment in the 

 soil than can be given by transplanting or than they can 



1822. Pool made attractive by planting of herbs. 



