28 



The Florists^ Review 



Deckmbhe 1, 1921 



which are really the start of the next 

 crop of flower shoots. 



Referring again to the illustration on 

 the preceding page, figure 2 shows a 

 young flower shoot which has begun to 

 lengthen and is unfit for projjagating. 

 Figure 3 shows a young flowering shoot 

 which has not yet started to shoot up 

 and will make a good, strong cutting. 

 The joints are close together and a 

 bushy plant, full of vigor, will result. 

 We do not hesitate to use this kind of 

 cutting if need be. Figure 4 shows a 

 shoot from a plant which has been cut 

 back for cuttings. This shoot has grown 

 a trifle too long, though we sometimes 

 see cuttings of this kind used. Figure 5 

 shows a shoot from the same kind of 

 plant. This makes an ideal cutting, 

 superior even to those shown in figure 1. 

 It is plump and strong, containing all 

 the vigor of the parent plant. 



Avoid Diseased Stock Plants. 



In selecting cuttings it is not only nec- 

 essary to choose those which are of 



of fresh water to drop them in as they 

 are being trimmed. 



How the Cuttings Are Trimmed. 



In figure 6 you will see the same shoot 

 as in figure 5, after it has been prepared 

 for the sand. In figure 7 you will see 

 the same young shoot as in figure 3, 

 after it has been trimmed. You will 

 note that in figure 7 the operator cut 

 through the node or joint; this per- 

 mitted pulling off the two leaves at that 

 joint without bruising the stem. It also 

 leaves a clean stem between this and 

 the next joint above, for inserting in the 

 sand. In figure 6 the heel has been re- 

 moved and the lower leaves also have 

 been carefully detached. This must be 

 done carefully, so as to avoid bruising 

 the stem, or decay may set in and cutting 

 bench fungus may result. This cutting 

 has several joints near the base, but, 

 inasmuch as these will be buried in the 

 soil after potting, they will be of no use 

 in forming a bushy plant. We consider 

 these two cuttings of equal value, as the 



The Latest Ideas Are Incorporated in the Construction of this Window. 



proper size and type, but great care 

 should be taken to discriminate against 

 cuttings from plants which are not vig- 

 orous and healthy. Cuttings taken from 

 plants which show considerable bacteri- 

 osis will invariably show the disease 

 the following season, even though it 

 may disappear temporarily. Plants 

 showing signs of brancli-rot should be 

 avoided; so, also, should shoots that 

 show rust pustules or spots of any of 

 the several spot diseases. Conditions in 

 the propagating bench are particularly 

 favorable to the development of any of 

 these diseases and it is a serious mistake 

 if the grower deliberately starts out 

 with them. 



Take off a moderate number of cut- 

 tings at a time. It docs the cuttings no 

 particular good to lie around, though it 

 will do no harm if several hours elapse 

 before they are inserted in the sand if 

 they are cared for properly. We have 

 seen unrooted cuttings shipped 1,000 

 miles or more and then rooted perfectly. 

 We have shipped unrooted cuttings to 

 England and received report of a strike 

 of over fifty per cent. After taking off 

 a quantity, hold tliem under the faucet 

 and let the Water run through them to 

 moisten them thorouglily. Have a bucket 



growth above ground is just about the 

 same in each. 



Before inserting the cuttings, you will 

 pack down the sand by means of a piece 

 of wood 2x8x12 inches, to which you 

 have affixed a handle of convenient 

 shape. About a half-hour before this 

 you will have watered the sand down 

 heavily, to be certain it is thoroughly 

 saturated and to insure its packing 

 down firmly. Draw a deep furrow across 

 the sand with an old case knife. Insert 

 the cuttings about three-quarters of an 

 inch and set them about the same dis- 

 tance apart in the row, letting the dis- 

 tance vary, however, according to the 

 size of the cuttings. After setting in a 

 row, lay a strip of wood two inches wide 

 alongside of the cuttings and tap it with 

 a hammer to firm the sand against the 

 cuttings. This will also give you a line 

 on which to draw your next furrow. 

 After setting a- batch of cuttings, give 

 them a heavy watering and cover them 

 with newspapers until evening. 



From this period on, you will give 

 your attention to shading and watering, 

 which includes spraying. The cuttings 

 should have all the light they will stand 

 without wilting and you will resort to 

 overhead spraying to help keep them 



fresh. It will be necessary to protect 

 them from the bright sunshine and to 

 keep away drafts by means of the mus- 

 lin curtains. 



A fine discrimination is called for at 

 times, to avoid going to an extreme one 

 way or the other. Your job is to keep 

 the cuttings fresh until the roots start; 

 that is, for a period of about four weeks. 

 On the other hand, you do not want to 

 keep them so dark as to make them soft, 

 or there will be serious loss in vigor. 

 So you want to do just as little shading 

 and spraying as possible, looking upon 

 these as necessary evils, as it were. 



The sand must be kept well saturated 

 until the cuttings have formed a callus 

 at the base. The callousing process will 

 require about two weeks and during that 

 time the cuttings have about the same 

 status as that of cut flowers and must 

 have an abundance of water to sustain 

 them. After that, the water may be de- 

 creased somewhat, but not to such an 

 extent as to cause wilting. Water in the 

 early part of the day and have the foli- 

 age dry by nightfall. Too much mois- 

 ture on the leaves will start spot disease 

 and that may, in turn, develop into cut- 

 ting bench fungus. When you begin to 

 decrease the shading, begin by raising 

 the curtains earlier in the evening. The 

 purpose of this is to enable the cuttings 

 to freshen up over night in case the ex- 

 posure to light might be slightly over- 

 done at first. A cutting which is per- 

 mitted to wilt in the morning will find it 

 difl&cult to freshen up during a warm 

 day. By the time they are rooted, they 

 will stand the full sun. 



A little bottom heat will expedite the 

 process of rooting somewhat, but is not 

 indispensable and should not be over- 

 done. One steam pipe under each bench 

 is suflScient and if you can arrange to 

 trap some of the heat under the bench 

 it will answer the purpose. Dropping 

 the edge-board about a foot below the 

 bottom of the bench will accomplish 

 this. The temperature in the house 

 should be about the same as you main- 

 tain in the growing houses and 10 de- 

 grees warmer under the benches will be 

 about right. 



Promptness in Potting, 

 Do not allow the cuttings to stand in 

 the propagating bench after they are 

 sufficiently rooted to be potted. When 

 the root system h.as been started, the 

 young plants want real nourishment, and 

 the longer they are allowed to stand in 

 the cutting bench and left to subsist on 

 only water the more starved and weak 

 they will become. Some growers grow 

 their young stock entirely in pots; 

 others use flats or shallow benches. In 

 either case the object is to produce 

 sturdy young plants, and that means 

 that they must be shifted on as needed 

 to promote a steady growth. Plants 

 which have been allowed to become pot- 

 bound and starved are liable to fall an 

 easy prey to stem-rot. 



The foregoing suggestions cover the 

 mam points in propagating. Every case 

 has its own peculiar little details, its 

 own difficulties, which must be met by 

 the grower as they come up. Only ex- 

 perience will teach you how to overcome 

 these. Varieties differ in the length of 

 time required in rooting and the ease in 

 rooting. December, Januarv and Feb- 

 ruary are the best months for propagat- 

 ing carnation cuttings, as you then have 

 practically perfect control over atmos- 

 pheric conditions. Good stock is pro- 

 duced from later cuttings, but with 

 more difficulty. 



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