GREENHOUSE AND CONSERVATORY PLANTS loi 



Ringing Crotons. This simple operation is brought into 

 requisition when it is desired to root the top part of any particularly 

 fine specimen. The stem of the parent plant may be destitute of 

 leaves for a considerable distance above the pot, making the plant 

 comparatively useless as a specimen and only useful as a stock plant. 

 Ringing, if successfully performed, will give an almost perfect plant 

 a foot or so high with large leaves right down to the soil — a condition 

 we can hardly hope for from cuttings. Moreover, the rooted top 

 sends out such a mass of feeding roots that the succeeding growth 

 is not stunted, but continues to make leaves every bit as large as 

 the lowest ones — a condition much to be desired when an evenly 

 buUt up plant is wanted. Plants, then, should be selected which 

 have good, healthy tops with finely-colored, well-developed leaves, 

 and if the bottom part near the pot has lost its leaves this is the 

 only use to which it can be put. The house in which the operation is 

 performed should be a warm one and shaded from the sun, so that 

 the material used to produce roots will not dry up too quickly. 

 Select those pieces which are dormant or have made their growth, 

 because if plants are taken during the process of making leaves they 

 are bound to carry some disfigurement afterward. The stem at 

 the place to be rooted should be denuded of the leaves for two or 

 three inches of its length, and with a sharp knife remove a small 

 section of the bark; or, just as good, make an incision in the wood 

 upward of about three-quarters of an inch in length, and in depth 

 from one-third to one-half the diameter of the stem. Insert a little 

 sphagnum moss to keep the incision open, then tie a small quantity 

 around it, not too much or it wiU be apt to keep too wet. After 

 being tied small enough, so that the fingers can easily close on it, 

 stand the plant back in its place and see that the moss does not 

 suffer for want of water, because should this happen the tender tips 

 of the roots will be lost and the process of rooting will to a certain 

 extent have to be begun again. 



As soon as the roots show through the moss the plants should be 

 potted, but not potted in the ordinary way. Many pots are broken 

 trying to get plants out of them, but in this case we will have to 

 break pots to get the plants in. Thumb pots are quite large enough 

 for the first shift; and these must be broken into two pieces length- 

 wise. One-half of one pot and one-half of another wOl not do, as 

 the pieces must fit closely, therefore break as many pieces as are 

 wanted, and lay the pieces one on top of the other before beginning 

 the operation of potting. Supports must also be supplied, consisting 

 of two sticks, one on each side, and reaching to the mossed part of 



