November, 1910 



THE GARDEN MAGAZINE 



183 



Making More Geraniums 



STARTING geraniums from cuttings is a very 

 simple process. The plants that were 

 taken up in the fall can be made to give a large 

 increase in the hands of any amateur. Of course 

 you kept them in a cool place, providing no more 

 water than was absolutely necessary to keep 

 thern from wilting. This rest is to last for about 

 a month; then bring the plants into vigorous 

 growth by the aid of sunlight, warmth, and a 

 bountiful supply of water. But, remember, never 

 overwater a geranium. This matter of resting 

 is not absolutely necessary, and may at first 

 appear a bit of needless trouble, but somehow 

 or other a rested plant is more thrifty than one 

 that has been pushed right along. In my own 

 experience, plants set aside and neglected have 

 made better growth after being cared for than 

 plants that had been diligently attended to all 

 along. 



This treatment should bring your plants into 

 condition for cutting some time toward the end 

 of January or even in December. February is 

 not a bad month in which to root geraniums for 

 summer bedding stock; in fact, geranium cuttings 

 can be rooted at any time of the year. However, 

 it must be borne in mind that between the different 

 sections of our countrj' there is a wide range of 

 climatic conditions. Here in North Dakota we 

 do not expect to set out bedding stock much be- 

 fore the first of June. 



A plant that is to produce cuttings had better 

 not be permitted to bloom so that all its energies 

 may be centered upon wood and leaf growth, 

 Where there is an abundance of material from which 

 to cut it will perhaps not be necessary to remove 

 the flower buds. The cutting or slip is to be 

 taken from the end of a branch, while its length, 

 which may be anywhere from one to four inches, 

 will be largely determined by one of two factors; 

 either the cutting consists of a young branch, 

 in which case the entire shoot is taken down to 

 the main stem from which it grows, irrespective 

 of length, for it will never be over four inches; 

 or the cutting consists of the growing portion at 

 the end of a main branch, in which instance the 

 cut severing the slip should be made no further 

 down than where the young green wood extends. 

 Slips should always be severed with a square, 

 clean cut and never bruised. 



After the cutting has 

 been made it becomes 

 necessary to remove all 

 but one leaf so as to 

 reduce evaporation as 

 much as possible. It 

 may also become neces- 

 sary to cut a large leaf 

 in two, but no harm will 

 result. The cuttings 

 ought to be placed in 

 the propagating bench 

 as soon as made and 

 not be exposed to the 

 wilting effects of dry 

 air and sunlight. 



To root the cuttings, 

 sand, sunlight, warmth, 

 and water are needed. 

 Any shallow box about 

 three to four inches 

 deep will serve the pur- 

 pose to hold the sand. 



Directions for making a serviceable propagating 

 box may be found in The Garden Magazine 

 for December, igog. In the absence of a 

 greenhouse it will certainly not be a difficult 

 matter to find a warm sunny window that will 

 accommodate such a box. The sand must be 

 kept wet at all times, but is never to be water 

 sogged. Into this the cuttings are to be pressed 

 fully half their length, being spaced about one 

 and one-half inches apart — just far enough to 

 prevent their leaves from overlapping. Not only 

 is the sand to be kept moist, but an occasional 

 sprinkling will benefit the cuttings. The first 

 week or two the cuttings must be shaded during 

 the warmest part of the day — from ten in the 



Hard-wood cuttings do not take root as readily 

 as do green-wood cuttings 



morning until about four in the afternoon. Merely 

 covering them with a sheet of newspaper will 

 answer. In approximately four weeks the cut- 

 tings can be potted, depending somewhat upon 

 the amount of heat they have received. They are 

 ready for the soil as soon as one or more small 

 filamentous roots have developed which can only 

 be ascertained by taking up a cutting. 



For the first potting I prefer a soil rather sandy 

 than otherwise. The approved method is to set 

 them first into so-called thumb pots, and then 

 transplant several times into successively larger 

 pots as growth increases. For house culture, how- 

 ever, the rooted cuttings may be planted directly 

 into boxes about five inches deep, filled with rich 

 loose earth, and after they ha\'e had an oppor- 

 tunity to get a root hold on the soil and have made 

 a fair amount of leaf growth they can be set aside 

 in some cool, airy place until wanted for spring 

 planting. The cuttings may be left in the sand 

 considerably longer than is actually required 

 for root formation without any harm resulting. 

 Some of my cuttings this year remained in the sand 

 for three months, and they grew apparently as 

 well as if they had been in soil. However, in such 

 a case transplanting is apt to give them a slight 

 setback, and it becomes imperative that about 

 half the leaves be removed as well as the roots 

 slightly cut back when such cuttings are placed 

 in soil. 



After the cuttings have been planted they will 

 generally wilt some, but this need not alarm the 

 novice as they will straighten up in a few days 

 with careful watering. The longer the cuttings 



Position of thumb 

 and finger indicates 

 where cut is to be 

 made 



Remove all leaves ex- Cutting ready for the 



eept one at the top so as propagating bench, 



to reduce evaporation Note the square cut 



as much as possible that has been made 



Cuttings taken from young green wood make a 

 rapid growth 



remain in the sand the more will they tend to 

 wilt after transplanting. 



It is advisable to take only the young green 

 wood for propagation, yet when there is not enough 

 of this to furnish a sufficient number of new plants 

 some of the older and harder wood may also be 

 used, although it will not grow and take root 

 as readily as the younger wood. 



In this work there is little probability of a mis- 

 hap, though rarely black rot, a bacterial disease, 

 may get into the sand. This trouble shows itself 

 by the blackening and rotting of the cut end of 

 the slips which, of course, renders them worthless. 

 Sand once infected will rot every cutting put into 

 it and new clean sand must be procured. If this 

 trouble be observed in time, then with new sand 

 and the cutting away of the blackened portion, 

 the shp may be used over again. The geranium 

 affords one of the best materials with which to 

 gain a practical knowledge of plant propagation 

 by means of cuttings, for nothing will root quite 

 as easily. 



North Dakota. C. L. Meller. 



Increasing Plants by Root 

 Cuttings 



IF YOU have a greenhouse, and wish to greatly 

 multiply your plants of phlox, Japanese 

 anemone, and Oriental poppies, it can be done 

 most easily by root cuttings. Lift the plants 

 from the garden in late November, take them to 

 the potting-shed, shake off the earth, and with a 

 sharp knife cut the healthy younger roots into 

 pieces about an inch long. Fill flats with prepared 

 potting soil as for seedUngs, and sow the cuttings 

 thickly on the surface, afterwards covering with 

 a half-inch of soil. They may then be watered 

 and placed in the greenhouse, where in due time 

 each httle piece of root will sprout. 



In March, when the box is a mass of httle green 

 shoots, they may be pricked out like seedhngs, 

 potted in 2-inch pots, and, if the weather is warm 

 enough, put in coldframes to harden off before 

 planting outside, where they are to bloom. It 

 is possible in this way to raise from one good 

 garden clump a couple 

 of hundred plants, 

 taking up a space of 

 but 1 2 X 24 in. in the 

 greenhouse. 



Oriental poppies are 

 somewhat more difficult 

 to handle than phlox 

 and anemones, it being 

 necessary to slice the 

 parsnip-like root into 

 pieces about an inch 

 long bj' half an inch 

 thick. Put each one 

 in a pot, taking care to 

 have what was the top 

 of the original root near- 

 est the surface, as it is 

 from that end that the 

 Cutting ready for new buds and shoots 

 potting with too many are produced, 

 leaves. Remove half Sydney B. Mitchell. 



the number California. 



