152 PROPAGATION OF PLANTS 



to a pot of warm moist soil, taking care not to break or injure the 

 roots. Fruit jars with pasteboard covers through which the twig 

 may be put will be better than bottles when it is possible to secure 

 them. Cuttings may be made from green wood or hard wood 

 according to the nature of the plant. When made in 

 the fall or winter while the plant is dormant, they are 

 called dormant cuttings. There are three general 

 kinds of cuttings: (1) leaf cuttings, (2) stem cuttings, 

 (3) rgot cuttings. 



Leaf Cuttings. There are some plants, like the 

 begonia, which can be grown from leaves. The leaf is 

 secured from a healthy plant and its base and stem 

 are buried in moist sand. In a short time roots will 

 develop at the cut ends and new plants will be formed. 

 Stem Cuttings. These may be made of soft green 

 wood or of mature hard wood. Of the soft kind we 

 may take slips of ageratum, coleus, fuchsia, geranium, 

 heliotrope, nasturtium, tomato, carnation, and the 

 like. Of the hard wood we may take clippings of grapevines, 

 currant plants, roses, dogwood, etc. In preparing soft cuttings 

 we should secure shoots having not less than two nodes or 

 joints, and the stem should be cut just below or near the lower 

 node. Next reduce the leaf surface until only one half or one 

 third of the leaves remain, and then place the cutting in a green- 

 house bed of moist, clean, and rather coarse sand or in a saucer 

 of clean sand in a sunny window. Cuttings of oleanders and 

 the umbrella plant may be started in water without the sand. 

 In case the umbrella plant is used, the leaves, instead of the stem, 

 are immersed in the water. It is generally best to clip the tuft of 

 leaves on the umbrella cutting to within an inch of the stem 

 before putting it in the water for propagation. 



Hard wood or dormant cuttings are taken from the mature wood 

 of the last season's growth in the fall or winter, and they usually 

 contain two or more buds. These may be taken any time after the 

 leaves fall off before cold weather begins. See that the shoot 

 is cut off just below the lower node, but allow one fourth of an inch 

 of the stem to extend above the upper node. Pack the cuttings 

 in green sawdust or moist sand and place them in a damp cool 



