CUTTINGS 



83 



"When the small pots are full of roots the rooted cuttings may 

 be placed into 3-inch pots, without in any way removing any of the 

 soil. This can easily be done if care be taken. All of the rooted 

 cuttings will not make symmetrical plants and those which refuse 

 to do as we wish can be brought under subjection by using them for 

 propagation. The full grown plants do not look well when the 

 leaves are irregularly developed, but the symmetrical plant is a thing 

 of beauty. When old plants approach the flowering stage they 

 should be cut down and used for propagation. They are seldom 

 handsome when over four feet tall." 



I. Bayley Balfour remarks that plants grown from a leaf taken 

 near the flowering region of the Begonia, for example, will bloom 

 more quickly than one obtained elsewhere. 



ROOT CUTTINGS 



Many plants with thick roots may be propagated by cutting the 

 roots or root stocks into small pieces. But, curiously, variegations 

 are often not reproduced by this method. Some are propagated 

 indoors in the greenhouse, others, the stronger growing sorts, are 

 propagated out of doors. 



In propagating plants by means of root cuttings in the green- 

 house, flats or shallow boxes filled with light loam and leafmold are 

 used. There are three groups requiring somewhat different treat- 

 ment. 



Fig. 27. Leaf cuttings of Peperomia. A, A simple cutting of Peperomia Sandersii. 



B, A leaf properly cut prepared for making a leaf cutting. C, The growth from such a 



cutting as B. The young plantlet starts from a callus at the base of the leaf stem, or 



petiole (See page 81) 



