TREE AND SHRUB LIST 221 



VAGGINIUM Continued 



should remain in place in the sand bed till late Winter or early Spring, 

 undisturbed and exposed to outdoor freezing temperatures; but the 

 sand should be mulched with leaves, preferably those of Red Oaks. 



5. Early in the following Spring, before the buds have begun to push, 

 open the bed and sever each rooted shoot carefully from the stump. 

 Discard the upper portion of the shoot, making the cut at such a point 

 as to leave on the basal portion about three buds above the former 

 level of the sand bed. If the cut at the basal end of the rooted shoot is 

 not smooth or the wood is cracked, recut the surface with a sharp, thin- 

 bladed knife. The discarded upper portion of the shoot may be used 

 for Winter cuttings. 



6. Set the rooted shoots in a coldframe or a cool greenhouse in clean 

 earthenware pots of suitable size, ordinarily 3-inch pots, in a soil 

 mixture consisting of two parts, by bulk, of rotted upland peat and one 

 part of sand. 



7. Cover the frame with muslin or other white shade suspended above 

 the glass, giving the plants plenty of light but no direct sunlight, and 



Fig. 107. Tubered Blueberry Cutting with young sprouts developing. Used through 

 the courtesy of Dr. F. V. Coville of the United States Department of Agriculture 



for the first two or three months keep the temperature at not to exceed 

 65 degrees F. if practicable. When subjected to high temperatures the 

 newly cut shoots are liable to die and rot from the base upward. The 

 outer surface of the pots should never be allowed to become dry. The 

 desired condition may be assured by bedding, or "plunging," the pots 

 in moist sand up to the rim. 



8. Watering should be as infrequent as practicable, only sufficient to 

 keep the soil moist but well aerated. 



9. The frame should receive ventilation, but not enough to cause 

 the new twigs to drop. These are most susceptible to over- ventilation 

 and to over-heating when they have nearly completed their growth. 



10. After the new twigs have stopped growing and their wood becomes 

 hard, new root growth takes place. Then secondary twig growth 

 follows, either from the apex of the new twigs or from another bud 

 lower down on the old wood of the original rooted shoot. Until this 

 secondary twig growth takes place the life of the plant is not assured. 



