CHE REFERENCE LIBRARY - Pole Shift Survival Information

PROPAGATIOIV BY LAYERS AND RUNNERS 73
layer also possesses the advantage cf giving more than one
plant, but the roots are likely to form so continuously t.hat
definite and strong plants are rarely obtained ; these rooted
parts may be severed and treated as cuttings, however, with
FIG. 63. Carnation layer.
good results. The gra,pe is sometimes propagated by serpentine
layering.
Stiff and hard-wooded plants do not often “ strike” or root
readily, and to facilitat,e rooting, t,he branch is wounded atthe
point where it is desired that roots shall form. This wounding
serves to induce formation of adventitious buds at that
point, and to check. the growth of the branch at the tip. It is a
common practice to cut the branch about half in two, obliquely
on the lower side. This operation is known as “ tongueing.”
Twisting, notching, “ ringing ” or girdling, and various other
methods are employed, none of which, perhaps, possesses any
peculiar advantages in general practice. Some propagators
cut all the buds from the covered part. In this case the free
and protruding end of the layer is expected to form the top of