Grape cuttings should be taken late in the fall when the vines are well matured. Such a cutting includes only two joints, the upper one being the growing end and the lower the rooting end. They must be stored over winter in cold, moist sand, but should not be permitted to freeze. As soon as the ground can be prepared in the spring, set them out. They should be placed on a slant of about forty-five degrees and covered all but the top bud.
LEAF CUTTINGS
Some plants with large and vigorous leaves, such as many of the begonias, may be propagated by means of leaf cuttings. Buds readily develop from cuts made in the large veins. Take a full-grown healthy leaf and remove the stem all but about half an inch. Make a few cuts across the larger veins on the under side of the leaves at points where main veins branch. Press the leaf firmly down on the top of a box of moist sand with the under side next the sand. Keep the leaf in this position, using small stones or little pegs pushed through the leaf into the sand. Put the box in a warm room and do not let the sand become dry. When roots strike into the sand and buds develop from the points where the veins were wounded, take a sharp knife and cut out the new plant from the old leaf and transplant it into a small flower-pot in good soil. Sink the pot in a box of moist sand to prevent its drying out.
ROOT CUTTINGS
Such plants as "sprout from the roots" may be propagated by root cuttings. Sections of underground stems may also come under this heading, as in the case of horseradish cuttings. But real roots may be used for cuttings, as in the case of the blackberry and raspberry. The roots should be cut in pieces three or four inches long, planted in a horizontal position, and entirely covered with two or three inches of soil.
LAYERING
Bush fruits, such as currants and gooseberries, are frequently propagated by stem cuttings, as in the case of roses. Another method, which is known as layering, consists in bending one or more of the lowest branches down against the ground, fastening it there by means of a forked stick, and then covering it with two or three inches of earth. The part in contact with the moist earth will send out roots, while one or more shoots will come up. When roots and shoots have developed, the branch is severed from the parent bush and the new plant set in its permanent place. Strawberries exhibit a sort of natural layering.
PLANTING AND CARE OF HERBACEOUS PERENNIALS
Perennials grown from seed the previous summer should now be set in clumps two or three feet apart in the perennial border or here and there beside the fences or walks. The soil should be made fine and fertilized with well-rotted manure from the compost heap before setting out the young perennials. Dahlias and gladioli which were taken in in the autumn should now be set out. The dahlias should be divided and only the best roots used. Other perennials that have grown into large clumps should be dug up, divided, and re-set in well-fertilized soil.