LAYERING CARNATIONS.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 20586, 8 December 1928, Page 7

LAYERING CARNATIONS.

■. There, are, for the amateurj no. inherent difficulties attached to the layering of carnations. The ■ first essential is to choose plants which have well-developed, plump foliage at their bases. Tho most suitable time for layering is. just after the best of the flowers are over—January or February in New Zealand. See that the surrounding soil is made fairly light and friable, so that the formation of new roots may be facilitated as much as possible. If the soil is very heavy, it may be necessary to introduce a top-dressing of road-sweepings, or the refuse from the potting bench | but, in the ordinary way, well-tilled garden soil is all that is necessary for these plants. . Next select a strong side shoot and carefully remove all. the leaves, beginning at the base, for a distance of threq inches. This must be done with some care, so as not to tear the akin of the stem. The removal of the leaves will expose several joints, or axils, and it is from one of these that the’ new roots must be induced to emerge. This is aided by the next operation, which consists in making a cut, m the stem in such a way that a tongue te formed. The cut must be made carefully, and for this reason it is wise to use a sharp penknife. The start of the cut should be at about the third joint away from the parent plant, and the incison an inch and a-half in length. The layer must now be pressed in the soil, ao that the cut is left open, and tho newly-fdrmed tongue takes a downward direction in the soil. Peg the shoot down with suitable pegs, or, failing these, use tho feminine hairpin, which wil] serve the purpose almost as- well. Cover the layer with hn© 501], water in drv weather, and tne operation is complete. In about a month or six weeks’ lime tho layer will have become well rooted, and it then may be detached from the anfc ’ij be P° tted U P and h« P t,T fV° d . fr , a ™ {or the winter, or be planted_ straight away in a prepared tS . l l r Wh i- h ll w intended to-flower in I ™f uccee ° ln £ summer. nlnnt . Va l Ue , of ,the carnation a s a border plant is not always Appreciated bv the amateur gardener as highly as it ought to j. .proper cultivation, it will bloom prodigiously. The- border carna--Btand' S a CS n ,t!ally a hardy nknt - «»«* will nudtv nn + l n -“ nt of frost with imnof being any more difficult to grow than the average plant.