960 



THE BOOK OF GARDENING. 



When sufficiently rooted, the plants can be potted up separately, 

 and not kept too wet until roots are to be seen under or in the pot. 



Root-Cuttings have been partly described under " Division." 

 Many plants can be propagated by divisions, or cuttings, of their 

 underground parts. Ordinary roots, as found in Bouvardia, are 



useful for propagation. Yuccas 

 afford us another striking 

 example of the present mode 

 of reproduction. If the thick 

 fleshy roots are cut into 

 pieces and inserted in beds 

 of sand on a good bottom- 

 heat they will soon grow, 

 making as many young plants 

 as the number of pieces 

 inserted. Fig. 625 illustrates 

 a young plant of Yucca de- 

 veloped from a root-cutting. 

 When the plants are first 

 potted up they require a 

 lighter soil than that in which 

 the established plants thrive. 



Heel-Cuttings are mostly 

 used for propagating hard- 

 wooded plants (trees or 

 shrubs). They are obtained 

 by taking the cutting pro- 

 vided with a small part of 

 the stem, or old wood. 

 Euonymus and Roses are 

 often thus propagated ; but 

 in this case wood of the 

 current year is used. Many 

 fruit-trees and shrubs are 

 also propagated by this 



means. Heel-cuttings vary 

 in length from 6in. to 8in., 



6in. 



or sometmies more. 



Cuttings in Water. — As 

 Fig. 625.— Young Plant of Yucca, previously stated, cuttings 



may be inserted in water in 

 various ways — in bottles for single cuttings, or in tanks for 

 plants such as Cyperus, which when cut are left floating on 

 the water. A quantity of eyes soon spring from the leaves, 

 and the roots grow rapidly in the water. When well rooted, 

 the plants may be potted up in a very light soil and kept in a 

 state of permanent saturation which will help them to recover 

 from the change. 



