ROOT CUTTINGS

Evening Post, Volume CXXXI, Issue 101, 1 May 1941, Page 15

ROOT CUTTINGS

Quite a.number, of plants can be^ propagated by means .of root cuttings.1

Most gardeners have had the unpleasant experience of trying to eradicate clumps of anemone japonica, or alstroemeria, for instance, and discovered that every small piece of root left in the ground starts to grow and forms a new plant. The same may be observed with dandelions, couch grass, sorrel, and convolvulus. .

This is the same principle as increasing plants by root cuttings, quite a

number being readily propagated in this manner. As a general rule cuttings are best taken after the plants have done flowering in the summer and from then "onwards until the coming of cold weather, or the operation may be done in the spring. One great advantage of taking the cuttings at the end of summer is that welldeveloped . specimens are secured by the following year. In all cases, however, one should wait till the flowering _ t of the plant is over.

Now arid again, sufficient roots for the purpose can be secured by digging round the plant. In others it is better to lift the plant and shake the roots free from soil, cutting all the thicker roots away, and leaving the parent plant with enough growth only to start away again when replanted. Three inches is a good average length for a cutting if plenty of roots are to be had; but pieces a good deal shorter than this will often give quite good results/ •

The roots of anchusa, anemone japonica, and others will grow if set about two inches down in beds of sandy soil out of doors; it is better, however, to start them into growth in a cold frame or greenhouse if this is possible. v ,v,, , .

Boxes or pots four inches... deepshould be given plenty of drainage and then filled up 'with a,,compost formed of equal'p&rts of loam, leafmould, arid sand. • Insert the cuttings in holes made with a stick slightly larger than the roots, the top of the cutting being just below the surface of the'soil. Smaller pieces may be laid on the soil and covered with a thin layer of compost. Two or three inches should be allowed between the cuttings. . , "

The following .plants among others may be increased by root cuttings:— Anchusa, hemerocallis, Oriental poppies, Romneya coulterii, and bouvardias: Most of the plants with fleshy, thong-like roots are suitable subjects.