82 PRACTICAL PLANT PROPAGATION 



In certain bulbous 

 plants, as the Hyacinth, 

 small bulbs are produced 

 at the base of the leaves 

 when they root. 



Certain Cotyledons 

 (Echeveria) which do not 

 propagate rapidly 

 enough by offsets may 

 be grown from leaf cut- 

 tings set very shallow in 

 sand and kept rather 

 dry. 



Sanseviera leaves are 

 cut into three-inch 

 lengths and allowed to 

 dry for a day or two. 

 They are then placed 

 perpendicularly in the 

 sand where if they are 

 not overwatered they 

 start new plants nicely. 



Fig. 26. Another^ method of making a leaf cutting SlnnQo>niorn -oA//on/7i//i 



of Begonia Rex. The leaf shown in figure 24 might bdUSeVierd ^eyldndlCd 



have been pinned to the sand by bent wires. Near var. LdUrenti has green 



the pins the main veins when cut would have pro- . . j .i 



duced small plants (See page 80) leaves variegated With 



white. It does not re- 

 produce its white stripes from leaf cuttings and must be propa- 

 gated by division. 



Bryophyllum leaves when placed on the sand bench will send out 

 young plantlets at every notch in the leaf. 



Sphaerogyne or Tococa, a beautiful broad-leaved conservatory 

 plant, is increased by a peculiar method described thus by Geo. W. 

 Oliver: "Its propagation is very simple but requires bottom heat. 

 Cut the stems about two inches below the leaves, trim the leaves to 

 within two inches of the petioles. Split the stem down the middle 

 and place the cuttings in sand where there is a brisk bottom heat. 

 Make sure that the under part of the small piece of leaf lies close to 

 the sand, then every piece will root provided the leaves are neither 

 too young nor too old. The rooted pieces should be placed in 2-inch 

 pots. Replace the potted cuttings in the sand with the under part 

 of the leaf again close to the sand. The young growth from the axil 

 of the leaf will furnish the stem of the future plant. Too much 

 water at any one time is apt to be hurtful. 



