CHE REFERENCE LIBRARY - ZetaTalk

410 THE N URSERY-M.4 N UA LRheum (Rhubarb. Pi+Plant. FVine-!‘lant) . Po!j/~oan.cea?.Propa.gat& by seeds and by divixion. Each division shouldcontain at kast one l)utl or eye, with as much rhizome and root aspos~il)lc. S;CW~S 1k1:i~v 1~ sown where the plants are to stand, but willnot rr~protfucc thcb varieties, and three years are required for theplants to mature.Rhipsalis. C’wfmw.Cuttings, after having been dried a few days, should be insertedin coarse ~8 nd. See C’rtrf i, page 261.Rhododendron. ~~~im-~w.Seccl~ ;Iro 1:1rgt~l>~ employed, but t,hey arr small and light, andmlist 1~ carcfull\V handled. They arc sown in spring in pans orl)osr~ in :i soil of sand>r peat, care being taken to cover them verylightl>* ilntl not to tli$lodFe them when applying water. They areh:1n(lk~l in coldframes or m a cool house, and the young plants must1~) sllitded. The plants arc commonly allowed to remain a year intlw hoses.‘1’1~~ seeds should 1~ sown in prepared boxes, half filled wit,hrcwks or ashes, on which is placed a mixture of petit, leaf soil andsikrl(l ; on top place a thin layer, about. one-eighth inch, of finely siftedmoss. ‘It-ater well and sow the seed on the top of the moss. Ifkept shaclc~l and tilcb moss never allowed to become dry, the seedsgerrnin;tte readil>r in almut five weeks. Sown ttie third week in,Ji~nu:lr~ t\ley art’ rt~il(l>~ to transplant in a peaty mixture b)- June.‘l’ran~plant :~bout one inch apart in boxes four inches deep, with aslight, (fritinage at the bottom. These plants will be ready toplant out-of-doors in frames the following May. Three inches ofgrojvth are obtained with some species eight months after thescerl i5 ~owti.Low-growing plants are often layered. Cuttings of growing wood,cut to :I heel, art’ sometimes employed, being made in summer andhandlccl in a fralile, but the percentage of rooted plants is oftensmall.Khoclodentlrons ;irc extensively grafted, the veneer method beingmost u~ci. Ti ~1 operation is performed on potted plants in latesunlnlt’r or earl?- fall, or sometimes in a cool house in early spring.1Iost of thcb k;t~x~~ are allowed to remain on the cion. The plants arethen l~li~c~~(l in tlr~~c~ly shaded cool frames (Fig. 4’3, and are nearlycovtlrc(l with sphagnum. J’arious stocks are cmplo)Ted, but forse\-c’rc’ clinlatc::< thch hardy species, like I?. crrtn&ir~r and R. mct.&31u1)2, are probably best. I(. po~~fic2m is extensively used in Europe,