too 



PRACTICAL PLANT PROPAGATION 



ered. In this method the plants are cut back very severely to cause 

 the production of a great number of branches. The bases of these 

 are covered with soil and soon develop roots. (See fig. 47) . When the 

 process is completed, the plants are divided. Gooseberries, 

 Spiraea Anthony Waterer, Hydrangeas, Quinces and many other 

 shrubs are propagated by this method. 



RUNNERS 



Certain plants, such as the Strawberry (see fig. 48) and Nephro- 

 lepsis, produce runners or little plantlets, upon specialized branches. 

 These are readily made into new plants by separat- 

 ing them from the parent plant 

 and potting into 2- or 2^-inch 

 pots. In the 

 Strawberry 

 patch there is 

 frequently a suc- 

 cession of these 



Fig. 48. Strawberry runners new plants start _ 



ed, but for the best results the first runners to be produced from 

 the plants should be trained to root in pots sunk into the soil. 



RHIZOMES 



A rhizome, unlike a root, 

 is an underground stem. In 

 other words, rhizomes bear 

 roots but also have prominent 

 leaf buds or eyes. (See figs. 

 49 and 50.) Rhizomes are also 

 known as root stocks. 



Divisions of a root stock 

 or rhizome are safely planted 

 vertically when it is known 

 which is the upper end, other- 

 wise, most divisions should be 

 placed in the soil horizontally. 



Many of out outdoor plants 

 which bear rhizomes are best 

 propagated by taking pieces 

 which bear one or two eyes. 

 For examples see under Bulb- 

 ous Plants and Their Prop- 

 agation, page 179. 



Fig. 49. Portion of German Iris Rhizome. 



Between the leaf shoots is shown the scar 



left by the flowering stem. Each shoot might 



be separated as an independent plant 



