HORTICULTURE.

Digger (Invercargill RSA), Issue 11, 28 May 1920, Page 13

HORTICULTURE.

To say a little mor.e about propagation we come to cuttings. These are usually prepared from soft or hard wooded shoots. Pelargoniums (commonly known as gerani.ums), pansies and such like plants are examples of the former, shrubs and trees of the latter. Soft wooded cuttings are prepared from the ends of the shoots and are of various lengths up to six inches or even niore. They should be cut off close to a joint as there is a reserve stock of for.tcria.l in. the joint to assist the wound to callus or heal niore quickly and thus assist and hasten the rooting process. Remove some of the lower leaves, and if thickly leaved thin some of the others especially in fleshy leaved things such as geianiums so t-hat, the stem being open to the air, damping is avoided. Geraniums are sure rooters and in summer time practically every cutting will grow if simply ' planted out in the open and not watered, or if planted in pans or shallow boxes and placed in the greenhouse -where there is more warmth they may be kept moist and will root quickly, but do not over water. Pansies should be cut low down below the soft hollow wood or if possible pulled out with a little root as then they will root quickly and very few will fail. They should be started in summer so as to form nice plants hefore winter and be ready for early spring use, or for later use may be started in spring. Hardwood cuttings are mostly taken from the current year's growth, when it has become matured and should be formed from shoots, with or without leaves, cut to niore than six or eight inches, any soft tip being removed as a general rule but not necessarily so with overgreens, and when single stems are desired the lower buds should be removed to prevent Hsuckers forming below the ground. Small side shoots cut j off with a slight heel also make very good cuttings, and with some things give the. best results. With some evergreen shrubs of slender growth tips about two inches long give the best results as in the case of manuka. The crimson manuka Nicholi for instance can be successfully so raised, the best course being to plant thickly in a shallow pan and keep daxnp and shad,ed from the sun, when a fair proportion may be generally relied upon. In all cases ! good clean soil without manure should be used, and good draina.ge provided, Ihe soil being fh'mly pressed round the cuttings. Layering-shrubs and plants that do not strike readily from cuttings can in many cases be propagted in this method in which the cutting is not wholly severed from the parcnt plant but cut half way through and then split for a short distance towards the point and pegged down firmlv beneath the surface of the soil, which is firmly pressed round the layer, and severed when well rooted, which in some cases is not till the follqyving autumn. The layering is done in summer or autumn, and in the case of shrubs not severed tiil the following autumn. Carnations are commonly propa-gated by this method in the summer and severed in the autumn but they can he qnite successfully growth from cuttings if cut well into tho matured wood.