Gardening for Amateurs 



415 



removed in sucli a way that a small part of 

 the wood of the main stem from which it 

 springs is retained. A hole is now dibbled 

 in some fibrous loam or in the garden ; sand 

 is dropped in the bottom of this, the cut- 

 ting inserted, and the soil made firm. Many 

 cuttings can be struck in this way in the 

 open, e.g. Roses, Currants, Gooseberries, 

 and many hardy shrubs. Cuttings may be 

 of various sizes, but they should generally 

 be buried from 3 to 6 inches in the soil ; 

 always cut off the top at a bud, and the cut- 

 ting will branch out in growth. Half-hardy 

 or greenhouse plants should be rooted in a 

 cold frame, and all tropical subjects rooted 

 under glass over the pipes in a hothouse. 

 Equal parts of loam, leaf-mould, and sand 

 form a good general compost ; but Heaths, 

 Azaleas, and like plants root best in half 

 sand, half peat. Never let the soil get too 

 dry, keep down weeds, and hoe the surface 

 occasionally. A Rose will root freely if 

 placed in rain water containing a few pieces 

 of charcoal. 



Soft-wooded or Herbaceous Cuttings. 

 Cuttings generally consist of a growing 

 shoot, some 3 or 4 inches long, either from 

 the stem or from the root. These are cut 

 just below a leaf, the bottom pair of leaves 

 are removed, and the cuttings planted 

 firmly in a sandy loam about 1 inch to 1^ 

 inches deep. Always select the best shoots 

 for cuttings. Use a sharp knife, so as not 

 to bruise the tissues, and propagate from 

 a plant in the best of condition and free 

 from pests. When making the hole for a 

 cutting use a blunt stick, and always see 

 that the foot of the cutting touches the 

 soil at the bottom of the hole ; it is advis- 

 able to place a little sand in each hole. 

 Place the potted cuttings under glass, shade 

 in sunny weather, keep the air moist, yet 

 aerated regularly, and the plants will soon 

 root. When the plant is well established 

 and beginning to grow, air more freely, and 

 if conditions are suitable, harden it off. 

 Some soft plants only root in a bottom 

 heat, hence a hot-bed or propagator is 

 necessary ; all soft-wooded plants are 

 encouraged in their root development with 



a bottom heat, but most hard-wooded cut- 

 tings disagree with such conditions. Water 

 with care and regularly. 



Leaf Cuttings. Begonia rex, Gesneras, 

 Gloxinias, and some others are propagated 

 from leaf cuttings. Notches are made along 

 the midrib of a leaf at a place where each 

 large branch-rib joins, on the under side. 

 The leaf is then pinned down on a sandy 

 compost and kept moist. Roots will soon 

 form, and eventually a number of tiny 

 plants will be obtained from each leaf. 

 The leaves of Echeverias and Saintpaulias 

 have their stems inserted in a sandy, light 

 soil, and in a warm house will soon develop 

 into plants. 



Bud and Stem Cuttings. A stem is 

 cut into portions about 2 inches long, in the 

 centre of each being an eye or bud. These 

 pieces are placed in moist, sandy soil, with 

 the bud just peeping above the surface, and 

 if kept warm and moist will soon root. 

 Dracaenas, Dieffenbachias, and Vines can 

 all be propagated in this way. 



Root Cuttings. Portions of the roots 

 of various plants are cut into lengths vary- 

 ing from 1 inch to 5 inches, and inserted in 

 moist soil. Seakale, Horseradish, Clematises, 

 Passifloras, Aralias, Dracaenas, and others 

 can be treated this way. 



Bulb Cuttings. Scales from bulbs are 

 buried in a fibrous compost and kept moist. 

 If placed in a frame for a time, then intro- 

 duced into gentle heat, small bulbs will 

 form round the scales, and these may be 

 grown on until they reach the flowering 

 stage. 



Time of Insertion. Cuttings of hard- 

 wooded plants are generally inserted in 

 October in the soil of a sheltered border 

 having a northern aspect. Many cuttings, 

 such as those from Pansies, Violas, Calceo- 

 larias, Carnations, and the like, are taken 

 at the end of the season, rooted in frames, 

 and kept to furnish bedding-out material 

 for the next season. Chrysanthemum cut- 

 tings are taken from the suckers which are 

 springing from old roots at all times from 

 December to May. They produce plants 

 for the following season. 



