Raising Your Own Shrubs— By John Dunbar, 



Rochester 

 New York 



EASY WAYS OF GROWING THE COMMON FLOWERING SHRUBS FROM CUTTINGS — 

 WHEN TO TAKE THEM, AND HOW TO STRIKE THEM FROM HARD OR SOFT WOOD 



that 



usually some- 

 shadedhotbeds. 

 season are 

 on the green- 



(which are 

 buried in well- 



ANY amateur gardener can have a lot of fun by growing 

 his own shrubs from cuttings. It is generally quite easy 

 to do it too, and the personality that attaches to the 

 plants thus raised is indescribable. Many people harbor 

 the notion that it is only the expert nurseryman 

 who can go to work and raise shrubs or even 

 trees from cuttings, whereas the fact is 

 any one can be reason- 

 ably successful. The hot- 

 bed is the only special 

 equipment to be pro- 

 vided, and in some cases 

 even this can be dis- 

 pensed with. But since 

 what is worth doing at 

 all is worth doing well, 

 I urge the use of the 

 hotbed, and write from 

 the assumption that you have, or will get one. 

 Every garden should have one anyhow. 



There are three methods usually employed 

 by gardeners in propagating deciduous trees 

 and shrubs from cuttings, as enumerated below: 

 (i) The young growths of the season are 

 taken when the wood is quite green (which is 

 time in June), and the cuttings are placed in 



(2) The ripened growths (hard wood) of the 

 taken in October and placed in boxes (flats) 

 house benches. 



(3) The ripened growths of the previous year 

 taken off the parent during the winter), are 

 drained soil and placed in nursery rows in spring. 



There are certain trees and shrubs which can be successfully 

 propagated, by either of these three methods. On any large 

 scale of course, the cheapest method of that is of hard wood 

 taken in winter, and placed in nursery rows in spring. In 

 the winter season time is not usually so pressing for other duties 

 and the labor involved in the treatment of the cuttings is much 

 simpler. In this country however, and in the New England and 

 northeastern states particularly, on account of the short springs 

 and excessively hot summers, it is only a limited number of trees 

 and shrubs that will strike roots in sufficient quantity from 

 hard wood cuttings made in winter to make it pay. 



Some shrubs strike roots quite freely from cuttings made in 

 October, when the wood is matured, and placed in flats in the 

 greenhouse benches in a gentle heat. It is also true that quite a 

 number of these same kinds will "strike" roots when made in 

 winter and placed in nursery rows in spring, but, again, a large 

 enough percentage will not be realized to make it really pay. 



Some shrubs will not "strike" at all at either of those periods, 

 or at least in suffic- 

 ient quantity to 

 make it worth while, 

 but they can be suc- 

 cessfully propagated 

 from the green wood 

 taken some time in 

 June. Among shrubs 

 that require this 

 treatment are lilac, 

 viburnum, hydran- 

 gea, euonymus, bar- 

 berry and some of 

 the spireas. 



For the propaga- 

 tion of green wood 

 cuttings in summer 



Wrong and right ways of making a 

 lilac cutting. Note how the lower leaf 

 stems are removed and the upper leaves 

 cut back to check evaporation 



manure fresh from 

 and packed down to 

 the bed of manure 

 face of the manure 

 and pack all down 

 The shading 

 glass on the top, 

 the glass and also 

 from direct sunshine 



a hotbed must be prepared from eighteen inches to two feet in 

 depth. In some florist and nursery establishments pits are con- 

 structed of cement or planks to hold the manure, over which the 

 frames and sash are placed. In this way the heat of the manure 



is conserved for a much long-. 



er period than if placed on 



the surface of the ground. 



Where no such arrangement 



exists for frames and sash, I 



advise digging out a pit in the 



ground to the required depth 



to hold the manure. Make 



the bed of manure one 



foot wider and longer than 



the frame and sash. For 



example, if the frame and 



three sash are 6 x 10 ft., 



the bed of manure 



should be 8x12 ft. 



When frame and sashes 



are built permanently over cement or 



brickwork it is merely necessary to fill 



with manure the space inside the frame 



or pit to the required depth. Use 



the horse stables, thoroughly shaken out 



a hard bed. There is no danger in making 



too hard. On the top of the level sur- 



spread six inches of clean gritty sand, 



to a hard surface. 



should be about three feet above the 

 extending three feet beyond the area of 

 downward. It must cover the glass 

 in all directions. Cheap "factory" cot- 

 ton tacked to strong 1 x 2 in. white pine strips secured to 2x4 in. 

 hemlock bearings on the uprights and cross pieces is all that is 

 necessary. The frame should be made so strong that the wind 

 will not blow it down. This method of shading permits the air 

 to circulate over the glass, prevents the cuttings from being 

 overheated, and obviates the necessity of admitting air until the 

 cuttings begin to root. The frame is now ready for the cuttings. 

 About the exact condition of the wood to take for cuttings: 

 It should be sufficiently far advanced in growth to be perfectly 

 formed — that is in buds, joints and leaves; it should be cut when 

 it is green, and better success will be obtained if it is not 

 allowed to harden. 



The length of cutting to use depends entirely upon the vigor of 

 the wood. As a rule, short jointed cuttings are preferable to 

 those of rank growth ; but if the species or variety in question has 

 the latter growth, there is no choice but to use it. Cuttings may 

 therefore vary from five to nine inches in length. In the selection 



of lilac cuttings we 

 usually use four nodes 

 (or joints). A clean 

 cut is made close to 

 the lowest node, from 

 which the leaves are 

 removed; the leaves 

 are also removed 

 from the next one 

 above; at the third 

 node the leaves are 

 partly removed, and 

 at the top the blades 

 have part of their sur- 

 faces cut. This is 

 done to prevent too 



The ideal cutting frame is sheltered in all directions from the direct sun m U C h evaporation 



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