PROPAGATION PRACTICES 
Carnation cuttings root readily enough with average care, but the grower who does not utilize every 
known precaution of sanitation and give expert attention to his propagation is jeopardizing and tak- 
ing chances with his entire next year’s production of carnations. 
TIME OF PROPAGATION 
The propagating season normally extends from November to March, with most cuttings made during 
December and January. The recent trend is to propagate later, or at least to cut down the time be- 
tween rooting and benching the plants in their ultimate location. The advantages of early propagation 
in “building a bushy plant’ are more than offset by the checking of growth, hardening, crowding and 
the attendant disease problems when plants are held too long before final benching or going to the 
field as the case may be. As reported on the forward pages of this Manual, rooted cuttings benched 
direct make prodigious growth and overtake older plants from winter propagations. 
CUTTING TECHNIQUES 
To obtain the best carnation plants, two specific goals should be kept in mind in propagating carnations: 
(1) Root the cuttings quickly and get them out of the sand and into the soil as soon as possible to avoid 
hardening or checking of growth; (2) Observe every precaution to prevent disease contamination or 
spread. To accomplish these objectives the following procedures are suggested: 
1. Use large, vigorous and disease-free cuttings. 
2. Break, do not cut, cuttings from the plants. 
3. Do not cut the bottoms or trim the tops of the cuttings with a knife. (High humidity must be 
maintained and cuttings may require a little more space in the sand if they are untrimmed. 
However, they will root more quickly and are less likely to become infected with disease.) 
4. Dip the lower end of cuttings in Fermate. Do not throw them into a Fermate solution as this 
provides an excellent opportunity for the spread of bacterial wilt. Another recommendation 
which may be even better is to blow the dust onto the cuttings with a puff duster. 
Use sterilized sand in a sterilized propagating bench. 
Maintain 60 to 65 degrees F. for rooting. 
7. As soon as the roots are %4-inch long, remove cuttings from the sand and plant in soil. Do 
not let cuttings stay in the sand to develop a massive root system. 
CARE OF YOUNG PLANTS 
The myth that young carnation plants need to be hardened has been exploded. All the evidence is in 
favor of maintaining active growth, root and top. If this means later propagation or greater spacing 
of your plants, or both, the ends justify the means. Checked plants are a long time recovering, and never 
completely outgrow damages suffered in the early stages. 
oo 
As soon as the cuttings are rooted they should be planted in soil — in bands, pots, benches or flats. Ad- 
vocates can be found for each of these methods, and subsequent handling frequently determines which 
method is used. Because of the restriction to root action which results in hardening the plants, potting in 
24's is losing favor. Bands have a greater soil capacity than pots, and while they also restrict root action 
some, they have the advantage of less disturbance to the roots in later transplanting than is the case 
when young plants are planted in flats or benches. Spacings of 3 x 4 or 4 x 4 in benches or flats is 
preferable to closer spacing, since the plants do not ordinarily require additional spacing before the 
final benching indoors or going to the field. (For direct benching of rooted cuttings see the special text 
starting on page 1.) 
Use a good potting soil or bench soil mixture for the young plants, containing about one-fourth peat or 
well rotted manure. Sterilizing the soil, as well as pots, flats or benches is advisable, and it is best that 
the soil be sterilized two or three weeks in advance of planting. 
After the young plants are established, frequent light feeding with a liquid fertilizer is an aid in keeping 
the growth active, particularly where the plants are confined in pots or bands. 
Insect and disease prevention are vital at this stage. Remember the crowded conditions under which 
young stock too frequently is grown makes the spread and increase of pests easy. 
In planting or transplanting cuttings or young plants always plant shallow, or, never deeper than they 
had previously been set in sand or soil. 
