ENSURE A SUPPLY OF PENTSTEMONS

Dominion, Volume 31, Issue 105, 28 January 1938, Page 18

ENSURE A SUPPLY OF PENTSTEMONS

Pentstemons are now in their glory, and much as you desire to secure preliminary cuttings, you are naturally very anxious not to sacrifice any part of the beautiful display. You need not do so, for pentstemons develop among the flowering shoots quite a lot of unflowered shoots which make excellent cuttings.

Hy using a little discretion you can remove these in such a manner that there is no after-sign of your. raid. It is important not to take cuttings from the shady side of the plants. These are much too soft to root. They droop in the frame, and ultimately damp-off.

To prepare the. guttings for insertion, remove the leaves from the bottom inch of stem and cut the latter immediately beneath the bottom joint. No cutting should be more than 2Mn. long, nor less than 2in. » After dipping in nicotine insecticide as a pest-cleansing measure, plant 2in. apart in a frame sheltered from north and east winds. These are terribly destructive to pentstemon cuttings, which are among the most difficult of cold frame subjects to winter. The ideal compost is equal parts riddled loam, leaf-mould and sand, and the surface layer of sand should be at least l-3in. thick. The bed, which should be well drained with a 21n. layer of rubble, need not be more,, than 4in. deep. Make it specially firm for a cutting bed. Water well after planting.