300 SATURDAY IN MY GARDEN 



The professional gardener divides his cuttings into two classes 

 namely, hard and soft wooded and it is to the latter class that 

 the viola belongs. Happily, also, the viola is a hardy subject ; 

 therefore there need be no hesitation about consigning the cuttings 

 to a cold frame. 



Another most delightful border plant which lends itself readily 

 to this method of propagation is the pentstemon. No amateur 

 gardener who has once included' the pentstemon in his collection 

 will care ever to be without a few well-grown specimens, and if he 

 " take " cuttings in September and insert them in a cold frame 

 he will have no difficulty in increasing his stock. 



Among hard-wooded subjects suitable for cold frame treatment 

 there is a wide range of choice in evergreen shrubs, some properly 

 prepared cuttings of which are depicted in Diagram 48. 



Shrubby veronicas may also be raised in a cold frame, while a 

 nice little stock of own-rooted rose-trees, especially the climbing 

 varieties, such as Crimson Rambler and Dorothy Perkins, may be 

 obtained if the precaution be taken to insert them very firmly 

 in sandy soil to a depth of about six inches. 



Another method of propagating hard-wooded plants, the cut- 

 tings of which do not root readily in the usual way, is that known 

 as layering. 



The plan is to make an incision in a portion of the bark and wood 

 in the lower side of a branch, to peg the newly formed tongue 

 down in the ground, and cover it to a depth of two or three inches 

 with a mixture of fresh loam and sand. By this means a stock 

 of ivies and rhododendrons may also be raised. 



Let me here offer a word of warning. In making a choice of 

 bedding plants upon which it is intended to try the experiment 

 of propagation in an absolutely cold frame, avoid all attempts 

 to include zonal pelargoniums (commonly called geraniums), 

 marguerites, heliotropes and fuchsias. All are half-hardy, and 

 any endeavour to propagate them without the aid of artificial 

 heat must end in inevitable disaster. 



With regard to Question No. 2, " When should cuttings be 

 taken ? " the answer is, either in spring or early autumn, and, as a 



