66 THE STORY OF MY ROCK GARDEN 



P. rosca, P. Auricula, and of course the common prim- 

 rose and polyanthus, I take up the whole clump 

 directly after flowering unless I require the seed and 

 split it up. It is surprising how easily each crown 

 and its roots can be separated from its neighbours, 

 without damaging them at all. These pieces if 

 carefully re-planted, either into pots or the moist soil 

 of their ordinary bed, will make up good plants by the 

 following year. If they are put into pots they can be 

 planted out at any subsequent time, after say a month 

 or six weeks, when care should be taken not to disturb 

 them at all, but to merely drop them into a hole which 

 has previously been made for them of about the right 

 size. 



I also treat such plants as the Veronicas and Cam- 

 panulas in the same way (I am, of course, not referring 

 to the shrubby New Zealand Veronicas), and in those 

 two instances it is quite easy in most cases to chop off 

 pieces of the root-stock with the trowel, thus rendering 

 it unnecessary to take up the whole clump. 



In the case of the Campanulas like carpatica, pusilla, 

 and muralis, if broken up in Spring, when they are just 

 starting into growth, every little shred will grow, if 

 carefully dibbled in. 



In some cases, such for instance as Cotoneaster, 

 Alpine Phloxes, Acantholimon glumaceum, I find it 

 best to increase by layers. This I do by selecting 



