The nurserybook - 1891 Author:Liberty Hyde Bailey Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: CHAPTER III. LAYERAGE. Layerage.—The operation or practice of making a layer, or the state or condition of being layered. Layer.—A shoot or root, attach... more »ed to the parent plant, partially or wholly covered with earth with the intention that it shall take root and then be severed from the parent. Stolon.—A decumbent shoot which, without the aid of man, takes root and forms an independent plant. nANY plants habitually propagate by means of decumbent shoots and runners. These shoots become more or less covered with earth or leaves, and roots are emitted, usually at the joints. In many cases, the old shoots die away and an entirely independent plant arises from each mass of roots. In other plants, the shoots remain attached to the parent, at least for a number of years, so that the plant comprises a colony of essentially distinct individuals. Great numbers of plants which do not propagate naturally by means of layers are readily increased by this means under the direction of the grower. In most cases it is only necessary to lay down the branches, cover them with earth, and allow them to remain until roots are well formed, when they can be severed from the parent. Layering is one of the simplest methods of propagation, as the mother plants nurse the layer plants until they can sustain themselves. It is a ready means of multiplying hard-wooded plants which do not grow well from cuttings. All vines, and all plants which have runners or long and slender shoots which fall to the ground, may be multiplied readily by layerage. Among fruits, the black-cap raspberry is a familiar example. The canes of the current year bend over late in summer and the tips strike the earth. If the tip is secured by a slight covering of earth, or if it finds lodgment in a mellow soil, roots ar...« less