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Gardening for Amateurs 



by June. Old plants can be taken up from 

 the beds and potted, and kept in a cool 

 house or frame for the winter. 



Old root of Canna as it appears after having 

 been stored during winter. 



Ageratum. Varieties of this plant like 

 Mexicanum and Princess Pauline should be 

 propagated from cuttings in February. To 

 render this possible pot up a number of the 

 old plants in autumn. Healthy shoots, 3 

 inches in length, make good cuttings, and 

 should be inserted several in a 5-inch pot, 

 filled with light, sandy soil. It is a good 

 plan to scatter a little sand on the surface of 

 the soil ; when inserting the cuttings with 

 a dibber some of it will fall to the bottom 

 of the hole and help roots to form more 

 freely. Water the cuttings and place them 

 in a propagating frame. A temperature of 

 60 will suit them well, and a little bottom 

 heat will be an advantage. When nicely 

 rooted pot the cuttings separately in small 

 sixty pots, and grow them near the glass. 

 The dwarf blue and white varieties are 

 readily raised from seed sown in February 

 or March. Sow in pans of fine soil, and sub- 

 sequently prick the seedlings off into pots 

 or boxes, in which they will make nice plants 

 to put out in June if hardened off in cold 

 frames previously. 



Alternanthera. This plant is propa- 

 gated from cuttings inserted in boxes of 

 sandy soil early in the year ; in fact, cut- 

 tings rooted up to the end of April will make 

 suitable plants for carpet bedding. They 

 root readily in gentle heat, and may be 

 allowed to remain in the boxes, if not too 

 crowded, until placed in their summer 

 quarters. It is necessary to pot up some 

 old plants in the autumn, place these on the 

 shelf of a warm house for the winter, and 

 there will be a plentiful supply of cuttings 

 by January. 



Alyssum maritimum (Sweet Alys- 

 sum). This is raised from seed sown in a 

 cool house or frame in March. Prick the 

 seedlings off in boxes when large enough. 

 Alyssum compactum can also be raised ID 



After a week or two in a warm greenhouse 

 the roots start into growth, and may then 

 be divided. 



the same way, or it may be increased from 

 cuttings early in the year. 

 Antirrhinum (Snapdragon). This 



