LAYERING SHRUBS

Hawke's Bay Tribune, Volume XXIII, Issue 77, 13 March 1933, Page 10

LAYERING SHRUBS

Many garden subjects, especially shrubs and creepers, are very difficult to propagate, for cuttings whether before they have had time to make roots, aud if seed is produced it takes, if an attempt is made to sow it, some years to grow into a flowering plant. Ju such cases recourse is often had to layering. Authorities vary in opinion as to the most suitable month for the work, but undoubtedly it is best done when sap is still moving briskly in the shrubs or plants and when the new growth is getting toward maturity. There should also be moisture enough in the soil to encourage the layered parts to throw out new roots. Before the layering is done the soil around the shrub or creeper should be forked up several inches deep to provide a suitable place for the roots of the layers. It is also advisable to put down a little new sandy soil. Pieces of the shrub are then brought to the ground and pegged down, first having a notch or slip made in them to encourage the formation of new roots. In the case of a clematis or any other thing that is small in the stem it is quite sufficient to scratch off a bit of bark instead of trying partly to sever the stem. For large branches that are layered the system known as “ringing” is sometimes adopted. This consists of taking off a ring of bark all round the stem about an inch in length. The portion of the stem pegged down is then covered with soil. There should be about one foot of the branch left beyond the point where it is layered, with all leaves and tips intact.