Increased by seeds and layers. Cuttings of rather firm side young shoots, made during spring.
Oyster Plant. See [Salsify].
Oxytropis. Leguminosæ.
Seeds should be sown where the plants are to stand; also by dividing the plant in spring.
Pachira, Carolinea. Malvaceæ.
Seeds. Large cuttings cut at a joint, with the leaves on, in heat.
Pæony (Peony, Piney). Ranunculaceæ.
Seeds, giving new varieties, are sown as soon as ripe. The seedlings seldom rise above the surface the first year, all their energies being spent in the formation of roots. The common herbaceous varieties are oftenest propagated by division of the clumps. Each portion should possess at least one bud upon the crown. All woody species may be increased by layers and cuttings. Cuttings are taken late in summer, cut to a heel, and are handled in a frame or cool greenhouse. During winter they should be kept from freezing. The shrubby species and P. Moutan are often grafted, and all species can be handled in this way. The operation is performed in late summer or early autumn, and the grafts are stored in sand or moss where they will not freeze. The next spring they are planted out. The cion is made from a strong short shoot, destitute of flower-buds, and is set upon a piece of root, as described and figured on a previous page (p. 88, [Fig. 85]). Some prefer to cut a wedge-shaped portion from the side of the stock, in which to set the cion, rather than to split the stock; but either practice is good. Strong roots of various varieties or species may be used. The Chinese pæony (P. Moutan), P. officinalis and P. albiflora are probably oftenest used.
Painted-cup. See [Castilleja].
Palafoxia. Compositæ.