Fig. 260. Cutting-bed, showing carnations and roses.
If the box does not receive direct sunlight, it may be covered with a pane of glass to prevent evaporation; and then the children may see the plants more readily. But take care that the air is not kept too close, else the damping-off fungi may attack the cuttings and they will rot at the surface of the ground. See that the pane is raised a little at one end to afford ventilation; and if water collects in drops on the under side of the glass, remove the pane for a time. Cuttings of common plants, as geranium, coleus, fuchsia, carnation, should be kept in a living-room temperature.
The pictures are better than words. The line across them shows where the soil comes. There are softwood cuttings of the geranium ([Fig. 257]), the carnation ([Fig. 258]), and the rose ([Fig. 259]); and there is a gardener's cutting bed ([Fig. 260]) with cuttings of carnations and roses.
Fig. 261. Verbena cutting ready for transplanting. Two-thirds natural size.
Be patient. As long as the cuttings look bright and green, they are safe. It may be a month before roots form. When roots have formed, the plants will begin to make new leaves at the tip. Then they may be transplanted into other boxes or into pots. The verbena in [Fig. 261] is just ready for transplanting. Each child will want a plant.
It is not always easy to find growing shoots from which to make the cuttings. The best practice is to cut back some old plant severely, then keep it warm and well watered, and thereby force it to throw out new shoots. The old geranium plant from the window garden, or the one taken up from the lawn bed, may be served this way. See [Fig. 262]. This may seem hard treatment, but that is all the old plant is good for; it has passed its usefulness for bloom. The best plants of the geranium and the coleus and many window plants are those which are not more than one year old. The cuttings that are made in January, February, or March will give compact blooming plants for the next winter; and thereafter new ones take their place.
Some plants may be propagated by means of cuttings of leaves. The Rex begonias or "beefsteak geraniums" are the commonest examples. The large, nearly mature leaf is divided into triangular pieces, each piece containing at its point a bit of the leaf-base (top of the leaf-stalk). This kind of cutting is shown in [Fig. 263]. This base is sometimes split (as at o) by gardeners to hasten the formation of roots. Only the tip of the cutting is stuck into the sand; otherwise it is treated like other softwood cuttings.