RHODODENDRONS

Wairarapa Times-Age, 23 June 1938, Page 10

RHODODENDRONS

LAYERING PROCEDURE.

Rooting cuttings of rhododendrons < simply by removing them from the t bushes with a knife is a difficult and , slow process, almost invariably atten- i ded by failure. 1 No matter how carefully they are < planted or how suitable the soil may : be, their wood is so hard and tough in ] texture that a cutting removed from i the parent bush will rarely by induced ] to form roots in time to save the life > of the cutting. However, treating these as one does . carnations, i.e., by layering, good results can be produced in a comparatively short time, and in the case of good varieties, which are always rather expensive, a stock of young plants may be got by this method. Procedure is as follows: Select as many of the strongest shoots as may be required for rooting purposes from the branches growing nearest to the soil level. If not too high up, they may be bent down towards the ground, taking care not to break them, and kept in place by strong pegs having a hook round the branch and pushing the other end into the ground. Then remove some of the leaves about Ift from the tips of the shoots selected, where the wood is not too hard, and make a cut with a sharp knife on the under side about 3in long, thus splitting the stem to form a tongue. A cavity should then be formed in the ground, about 4in deep, directly underneath the shoot, and filled with sandy compost, the tongue of the shoot on which roots are formed being pulled open and pushed down into this, and kept in place by a small peg, placing a little of the compost on top also. ■ Shoots which are too far from the soil level may be rooted by filling fairly deep boxes with the compost or these may be raised still higher by placing an empty box underneath them. Rooting generally takes place in about three months. The young layers should on no account be cut away from the parent bush until it is certain that

roots have formed. This may be ascertained by gently scratching away some of the soil with the finger until roots are seen. When rooted they may be cut away from the parent bush and planted in their permanent quarters in ' lime-free soil. Layering may be done at almost any time of the year, except when the bushes are in flower.