Evening star., 1935-07-13

Asst week there was discussed
the propagation of perennlals
by seed and. although this is
IL the more common method
there are various species which can
be increased by cuttings. H. Stuart
Ortloff, in his book. Perennial Gar
dens," states that while cuttings car
be made from nearly all species, those
most commonly propagated IN this
way are arabs, ceraStium, chrysan-
themum. heuchera. hollyhock. candy
tuft, delphinium, pentstemon, phlox
dianthuS, plumbago, Sedum and Ve-
ronica. He goes on to suggest that
Spring is the pest season for making
cuttings When the parent plants are
to inches tall the upper three or
four inches may be clipped off with a
sharp knife and placed in soil in a
cold frame where they can be shaded
and watered until rooted. To prevent
excessive demand for water before
new roots have formed a part of the
foliage should be removed.
Certain species, such as oriental
popies, anchusa and gypsophila, with
thickened roots may be propagated by
cutting these roots into pinch pieces
and planting them in good soil. Ortloff
states that this root propagation Is
best done in Summer. but, OF course
to secure success one should use a
cold frame, where the soil may be kept
moist. F'ibrous rooted perennlals
such as plumbago. japanese anemone
phlox, stokesia and mullen, may also
be increased by root cuttings.
For a useful text on propagation IN
general one is referred to A. c. Hotties
book, Practical Plant Propagation"
The Lawn in Summer.
MANY home owners make the mis-
A'A take of cutting the lawn toe
frequently in Midsummer, with the
result that all the green foliage is cut
off and little left except cloSe-clipped
brown sod Blue grass IS practically
dormant at this season and, as re-
suit of close clipping, other less de-
sirable species, such as crab grass
gain ascendancy. One investigator
in the Department of Agriculture has
reasoned that blue grass normally
shades the soil to sufficient extent
to hinder termination of the crab
grass seed and that by allowing the
blue grass to remain always three or
four inches tall the crab grass should
be permanently checked.
Plantain is now Towering in lawns
and it is a most desirable time to dig
and destroy these large, broad-leafed
weeds. Home gardeners who soWed
grass seed in the Spring and secured
a fine. thick stand of plants are prob
ably worried at the way the paintings
are thinning out. There were un-
doubtedly too many plants in the
original stand and now it is a ques-
ton of survival of the strongest spe-
cies, which are likely to be rye grasses
and other kinds less desirable than
blue grass. Blue grass is slow to be-
come established and this Is why
Autumn is usually suggested as the
best time for establishing the perma-
nent lawn in the Washington area
Given a long, moist Fall, by the fol-
lowing Spring the blue grass is well
enough rooted to hold its own.
Large trees make lawn maintenance
very difficult, especially in dry times
such as seem to have arrived. Ger
tain kinds of grasses do better than
others beneath shade, but no grass
enjoys dense shading and tree root
competition. Many garden supply
stores feature shady lawn mixtures
In extremity, one can fall back or
English ivy and Japanese spurge a.
substitutes for grass. One may oh.
serve that the lawns that were pre-
pared with some care before planting
are greener and more attractive dur.
ing the offseason than those thai
we're simply developed naturally.
The Iris BOrer.
AT THIS season of the year the
observant home gardener may
eopoptinec p0ta that certain 0f thf