PLANTING 



PLANTING 



2673 



the earth, which to most of them is very injurious if 

 the soil is wet for any considerable time. In northern 

 climates these beds must necessarily be but temporary 

 combinations, to receive the plants for the summer 

 months. In the south and southwest regions, where 

 most of the succulents are quite hardy, the planting 

 may be made permanent. In such cases very pleas- 



3015. An informal planting of succulent subjects. 



ing effects are produced by planting on a sloping 

 surface, in more or less raised beds or, better still, in 

 rockeries. 



The cultivation of succulents. 



For a general rule, it may be stated that all succulents 

 require an open porous sandy soil and perfect drainage. 

 Other conditions, such as watering and atmospheric 

 humidity and temperature, must vary somewhat with 

 individuals or with special groups. Nearly all the spe- 

 cies are very easily grown from seed, although in many 

 cases vegetative reproduction is more available. In 

 fact, some species have natural adaptations for propaga- 

 tion in this way as well as by seeds, and quicker returns 

 may be had from the vegetative methods. The method 

 employed in propagating cacti from seed has given 

 equally excellent results when applied to all other 

 genera of succulents and is therefore given in all 

 essential detail. 



Cacti are especially easy to start from seeds and with 

 proper care may be readily brought to maturity. 

 Experience teaches that such plants are better adapted 

 to greenhouse treatment than those brought in from 

 their native wilds. The latter suffer from the shock of 

 radically changed conditions. For a germinating vessel, 

 nothing can be more convenient than a 3- or 4-inch pot. 

 If not fresh from the pottery, this should be thoroughly 

 sterilized. Sterilization can be accomplished by soaking 

 and washing in a dilute solution of copper sulfate 

 (blue vitriol) and subsequently rinsing well ; or the pots 

 may be placed in a furnace till all organic matter has 

 been destroyed. This sterilization is necessary for the 

 reason that the seedlings must remain in the seed-pot 

 for a considerable time before it is possible to trans- 

 plant them. If not sterilized, the pot is likely soon to 

 be covered with alga? or other organic growth and this, 

 spreading over the surface of the soil, will quickly 

 smother the young plants. For the same reason also, the 

 soil should be thoroughly sterilized. This seeding soil 

 should be very sandy with only sufficient humus mixed 

 with it to furnish food for the young plant, of which a 

 very little is sufficient. To insure perfect drainage, the 

 pot is filled at least one-fourth full of broken bits of pots 

 or charcoal, on top of which is placed the soil up to 

 about % inch from the top. This is jarred down 

 lightly and the surface leveled. The seeds are then 

 scattered evenly over the surface and firmed down 

 with a flat-faced cylindrical block. Over the seeds is 

 placed a layer, about */$ mcn deep, of fine gravel not 



larger than a small pea. One of the chief drawbacks in 

 growing cactus seedlings is their susceptibility to 

 "damp off" in their younger stages. The protection 

 afforded by this layer of gravel removes that danger. It 

 also prevents any baking of the surface of the soil. The 

 pots are then placed in a pan of water and allowed to 

 remain until the water shows on the surface of the 

 soil. Subsequent watering can be accom- 

 plished with a fine spray, applied to the 

 surface of the gravel. 



After planting, the seed-pote should be 

 placed on a bench which is insulated in 

 vessels of water or, better, in water with a 

 surface coat of oil. This oil is to exclude 

 ants, which have an especial liking for 

 cactus seeds. Best results are secured in a 

 humid atmosphere and a temperature of at 

 least 70 F. The seedlings of most genera 

 ought to appear within ten days, but 

 opuntia may require a little longer. When 

 the seedlings begin to show spines, they 

 may be transplanted into small flats of 

 earth into which a little more humus or 

 sod soil has been mixed. They may remain 

 in these flats for one to several years, 

 depending on the rapidity of growth in 

 different species. Eventually they are 

 potted off as individual specimens or placed in the open 

 ground. 



It is only in the southwest states that many of the 

 cactus plants are hardy enough to be permanently 

 planted out-of-doors. Throughout the greater part of 

 the United States they are tender and require green- 

 house protection in winter. In this colder region they 

 may be planted in the open ground of a conservatory, 

 where they thrive excellently, or they may be kept in 

 pots in winter and, in the hottest part of summer, be 

 removed to the outside and the pots plunged in beds. 

 Almost any cactus will readily strike root from cut- 

 tings. The cut surface must be allowed to dry for 

 several days, until a corky layer has formed over it. 

 The cutting may then be placed in sand to root, its 

 base but little below the surface. If slender, the cut- 

 ting should be tied in position to a supporting stick. 



Grafting of cacti is alfnost unlimited in its possibili- 

 ties, although employed only in particular cases. Small 

 globose forms, such as mammillaria (Fig. 3016), echino- 

 cactus, echinopsis, and others, are frequently grafted 

 on some abundantly rooting cereus. Good stocks are 

 provided by Cereus Bonplandii and C. tortuosus, though 



3016. A condensed cactus form. Mammillaria micromeris. 



almost any of the smaller columnar forms may be used. 

 With these cions and stocks, it is necessary only to make 

 a smooth horizontal cut across each and place the two 

 flat surfaces together. The cion is held in position by 

 placing soft strings or raffia over it and tying the ends 

 firmly about the stock or to sticks thrust into the earth. 

 Zygocactus (the old epiphyllum), rhipsalis, and 



