128 



CASSELL'S POPULAR GARDENING. 



for the increase of Anemones, Aralia Japonica, Pceonia 

 Moutan, &c. 



As an illustration of how to proceed in the pro- 

 pagation of plants hy root-cuttings, we may take 

 Anemone Japonica, with the nature of which every 

 gardener is familiar. "If a root of this kind he 

 taken out of the ground after flowering, it will he 

 found to resemble brown cord, divided into a great 

 number of ramifications, as is represented in the 

 accompanying wood-cut. Upon its surface will be 

 perceived a multitude of 

 white conical projec- 

 tions, sometimes grow- 

 ing singly, sometimes 

 springing up in clusters, 

 and occasionally pro- 

 ducing scales upon their 

 sides. They are young 

 buds, every one of 

 which, if cut from the 

 parent, will grow, and 

 form a young plant in a 

 few weeks. These buds 

 are not confined to the 

 main trunk of the root, 

 but extend even towards 

 its extremities ; so that 

 every fragment of the 

 plant is reproductive. 

 It is certain that vitality 

 is stronger in the roots 

 than in any part of the 

 plant." (Lindley.) 

 Paulownia imperialis 

 may be freely increased 

 by cutting its fleshy 

 foots into pieces about 

 two inches long, and 

 placing them in pans or 



boxes of sandy soil; the month of March is the 

 most favourable time for striking cuttings of this 

 plant, and, indeed, for the majority of plants to 

 which this method is applied. The roots of Droseras 

 are usually long and somewhat fleshy ; these may 

 be cut up into pieces an inch long, each one of which 

 will produce a plant. 



The treatment to be followed for the propa- 

 gation of all plants where root-cuttings are used 

 is as follows : — If possible, the whole plant should 

 be removed from the ground, and, after washing 

 the soil very carefully from the roots, the thickest 

 and plumpest roots should be cut away, leaving 

 sufficient roots on the plant to insure its re-establish- 

 ment when re-planted. In the case of trees, the 

 roots may be bared of soil, and cuttings selected. 

 The cuts at both ends of each cutting should be 



Fig. 17. 



clean, and it is necessary to avoid breaking the 

 bark of the roots in manipulation. Stout roots, 

 if plentiful, may be cut into lengths of about three 

 inches, but, as a rule, lengths of one inch will answer 

 as well as longer ones. Generally, each cutting pro- 

 duces only one bud, whatever its length, though in 

 some cases — as, for instance, Drosera — several buds 

 are sometimes developed on a single portion of root. 

 In preparing cutting-pots, boxes, or pans for the 

 reception of root-cuttings, the same rules may be 

 followed as are observed 

 in the case of stem-cut- 

 tings, care being taken 

 that the soil is well 

 drained and contains a 

 large proportion of sand. 

 If the cuttings be short 

 they may be scattered 

 over the surface of the 

 soil, and covered with a 

 thin layer of the same 

 mixture, or of pure 

 sand. Longer pieces 

 may be dibbled in with 

 their bases a little below 

 the surface of the soil. 

 A little bottom heat may 

 be employed for cut- 

 tings of even hardy 

 plants, the heat of a 

 propagating-frame be- 

 ing advantageous to all 

 tropical kinds. As a 

 rule, the buds are de- 

 veloped on the outside 

 of the root-cutting, ex- 

 actly as adventitious 

 buds appear on stem- ■ 

 cuttings. In Madura 

 tinctoria this rule is departed from, the shoots spring- 

 ing from between the wood and the bark of the root. 



A remarkable case of bud-formation on roots is 

 recorded in the Gardeners' Chronicle, vol. xxiii.,p. 110. 

 Mr. A. D. Webster, in a paper read before the Royal 

 Horticultural Society, called attention to the extra- 

 ordinary way in which a British Orchid, Xeottia 

 Nidus-avis, springs up in a single season where it 

 was never seen in a young state ; and on examining 

 the root-stock, he found that the fleshy root-fibres, 

 though dead at the base or end which had been 

 attached to the old plant, were alive at the other 

 end, and gradually developed young fibres. The 

 extreme point of the root becomes a bud or shoot, 

 from which a plant is ultimately developed. It is 

 possible that the so-called roots on which buds are 

 formed by this plant are not true roots, but under- 



-Eoot of Anemone Japonica. 

 a, Hoot-buds enlarged. 



