GARDEN NOTES

Manawatu Times, Volume 69, Issue 58, 11 March 1944, Page 8

GARDEN NOTES

(By Ngaio.) If you have any plants which you wish , to increase your stocks of by taking cuttings. now is a good time to do it. ’ Choose a semi-shaded position where | the soil will not dry out too quickly, but L another point to remember is .that some of your cuttings will remain in their pro- * pagating bed all winter, so do not select a spot which will be cold and wet at that season. 1 See that the soil in the cutting bed is T well worked to a good depth and has plenty of sand incorporated in it to keep it , free and encourage root growth • some ** people use pure sand for striking with no earth at all, so you can see how necessary - it is to have plenty of it. When the day - comes for planting see that the soil is evenly damp, but on no account wet and - sticky if watering the ground is neces- ■ sary do it early in the day and leave for •, some hours before planting. In choosing cuttings most people are apt , to be too generous and put in large top- ; heavy pieces with too much leafage on - them. As a rule small cuttings strike * better than large ones, and surplus leaves t should be removed as they will only wilt - and retard growth. Select a portion containing some old wood if possible and nip it off where it joins .another stem then | your cutting will have a -‘heel'’ on it and cl these strike the best. Prepare the cutting n by stripping off the bottom leaves and see l, that no flower buds are present. There are two points to remember when - putting in cuttings plant deeply and i- plant firmly; two-thirds of your cutting f should be below ground and its base t . should rest firmly on a sandy bottom; i press the soil round it and keep it just * damp until you see that growth has started even so, don’t be in a hurry to ” move freshly-rooted cuttings to new posiI? tions allow six weeks to elapse anyway, il if you have some favourite pansies and y violas you can increase your stock by \ taking cuttings now; these plants do not make wood, of course, so look for small pieces at the sides of the plant which maj already have roots cut back the tops if ~ they are too leafy and do not chooe long straggly pieces. Geraniums are very sappy plants and it is as well to leave cuttings out of water for some days before planting to allow them to dry out somewhat before planting. Carnations and pinks grow easily from cuttings the latter if grown as a border should be renewed every three or four years when they, begin to look untidy or straggly. The best carnation cuttings art those small ones which develop up the stem after flowering; pinch them out at the junction of the stem remove the lower leaves cut the top off square and plant firmly there may not be much ot the cutting left by the time it is ready to go in, but the small ones really do strike better than the large pieces of “grass” which people usually give you in a generous manner.