Fig. 53. Coleus cutting.
Cuttings from the nearly mature green-wood are employed for hard-wooded trees and shrubs, as diervillas (weigela), roses, hydrangeas, lilacs, etc. They are cut in essentially the same manner as the hard-wood cuttings described on [page 55]. They are often taken in summer when the buds have developed and the wood has about attained its growth. They are cut to two to four or five buds and are planted an inch or two deep in shaded frames. They are kept close for some days after setting, and the tops are sprinkled frequently. Care must be taken not to set them too deep; they are rarely put in over an inch, if the cutting is six or seven inches long. “June stock cuttings” are sometimes advantageously made; here the young shoots of hardy shrubs are taken, when about two to three inches long, the leaves partly removed, and they are planted under glass, precisely as the geranium is treated in the autumn. Several weeks are required for rooting, but good plants are obtained which, when wintered in a cold-frame, can be planted out in beds the next spring. Great care must be given to shading and watering. Hydrangea paniculata var. grandiflora, and Akebia quinata are examples; or any deutzia or more easily handled plant of which stock is scarce may be cited.
Fig. 54. Cactus cutting held by splinter.
Part of the leaves are removed, as a rule, before the cuttings are set, as shown in the rose cutting, [Fig. 56], and the hydrangea cutting, [Fig. 57]. This is not essential, however, but it lessens evaporation and the tendency to “flag” or wilt. In most species the top can be cut off the cutting, as seen in Figs. [44] and [57], but in other cases it seriously injures the cutting. [Fig. 58] shows a weigela cutting from which the top was clipped. An unusually large callus formed at the bottom, but the leaves shrivelled and the cutting is dead. This frequently occurs in what some nurserymen call “end growers,” among which may be mentioned weigelas (properly diervillas), the shrubby altheas, Cercis Japonica, and such spireas as S. cratægifolia, S. rotundifolia var. alba and S. Cantonensis (S. Reevesii of the trade) var. robusta.
Fig. 55. Cutting held by toothpick.