Evening star., 1951-07-22
Practice Of Taking Slips
Many Plants Propagate From Cuttings,
But Success Rests in Care and knowledge
By w. H. Younqmon
, Gnrdan Editor

/ Sorde
The practice of taking slips
I (cuttings) is as old as gardening
Grandmother practiced it and she
grew many plants from slips OBJ
tanned from neighbors and
friends. Not all of them grew, but
enough did to make The practice
interesting and to prove 1t could
be done. Those plants which
slipped" most easily were to be
found in every garden.
Recent research, however. has
widened the scope of slipping
and some of grandmother's fail
ures can now be avoided. We used
to take cuttings of the tender
new growth without too much
thought as to whether or not it
was the right time to take them
Generally speaking. the rule is to
take cuttings when the shoot
snaps if bent at a right angle
This is not quite correct and even
the experienced nurSerymen will
begin taking cuttings early and
repeat at weekly intervals just to
make certain he has a supply
rooted in the fall.
Few of the gardeners gave
much thought as to where to
make the cuts but now we know
that most plants root best if the
cut is made at the mode" or just
below. The node is the point
where leaf buds form on the
branch. Some plants root best If
the cut is made jus above the
node. the weigela is an example,
but there are only a few of them.
Several, especially the hybrid tea
roses. are best cut at the point
where they emerge from the pre-
ceding growth. Some writer's
describe this as taking "heel"-
piece Of old wood. The lilac is
another plant that seems to root
better when cut this way. Then
there are kinds which seem to
root equally well, wherever they
are cut. The pussy willow, for
sythia and many others are very
tolerant.
Bottom Heat Helps Some.
The commercial propagator has
found that some of the kinds of
woody plants which were difficult
to root responded to bottom"
heat. In other words when the
slips are placed In a cutting frame
that has a heating cable below
the roofing medium, growth is
more dependable.
The roofing medium - sand,
peatmosS, spagnum moss, Stag,
fy-ash. etc. also is an important
factor in the roofing. The choice
of material varies with the kind
OF shrub. and the experienced
propagator soon finds that he has
greater success with one than with
another. DR.. John Creech of the
Glendale Plant Introduction Sta
tion, has excellent results using
spagnum moss for many kinds of
plants. At the Iowa Experiment
Station, a mixture of peatmoSs
and sand is favored. Many old
times still prefer to use clean
sharp sand. However, most home
gardeners will find that the half
and-half mixture of sand and
peatmoss is good because it does
not dry out quickly. an important
consideration when the gardener
cannot be home to shade his cut
tings from hot drying sun and
winds.
The removal of foliage from the
Kind Of shrub
Evergreen barberry (Berberis juli
English lockwood (Buxus semperv
Cotoneaster
Jap. holly 1lex crenata) ----
American holly Qlex opaca)
Beautybush (KolkwitZia) ----.
Privets 0igustrum ------
Mockorange Philidelphus) ---.
Roses CRosa)
Lilac (Syringa
Bridalwreath spirea IS. prunifolis
Vanhouttes spirea IS. vanhoutteD
SNOWFALL (Viburnum tomentosum)
Cf-~ ~. l.