Propagation of Carnation
by Liza Othman

Description: Tips for propagating carnations.

For ordinary greenhouse cultivation, the plants are generally started from cuttings as early as November or December, although with a favorable summer for their growth, strong plants can be obtained by the last of August from cuttings struck as late as March. If desired for summer blooming, they should be struck as early as October, and if flowers are desired in the early fall, the making of the cuttings should not be delayed after November. Another reason for making the cuttings so early is that at that time the plants are strong and vigorous, while later on they will be weakened by flower production, and by the forcing process to which they are subjected during the winter.

As often propagated, it is not strange that varieties run out, but with proper care much can be done to prevent it, if the cuttings are rightly selected. Above all, they should not be made from plants that are in any way diseased or that have been flowering freely for a long period. The best cuttings are made from side shoots of flowering stems, and it is a good plan not to pull them until the flowers have opened, as one can then tell what the flowers of the cuttings are likely to be.

The portions used for cuttings should be firm rather than soft and watery, but should not be the weak, puny stems that weak plants often send out. While the best results can be secured from the suckers that form around the base of the plants, the strong pips along the sides of the stems may be used and will make good plants. These shoots may be pulled from the plants, and by removing some of the lower leaves the cuttings may be prepared without the use of a knife. The terminal leaves if very long, may be cut back.

Cuttings may be rooted either in propagating beds or in boxes of sand. The bottom of the bed should be covered with a thin layer of cinders, or gravel, and about three inches of clean, sharp sand should then be put on. While it is not desirable to use sand that is very coarse or very fine, the character of the sand makes comparatively little difference, provided it is not of a quicksand nature and is free from organic matter. The sand should be compacted and thoroughly wet down and the cuttings set in rows about two inches apart and three-quarters of an inch between the plants in the rows. After a row is in place, the soil should be firmly pressed about them, and a narrow groove made for another row.

The cutting bed should be in a temperature of 50 to 55 degrees at night, while 5 to 10 degrees of bottom heat are desirable but not necessary. During the day the greenhouse should be thoroughly ventilated and the temperature kept as near 60 degrees as possible. Unless the cutting bed is in a north-side house, into which no direct rays can enter, the cuttings will require shading from nine until three o'clock on sunny days, and should be kept rather close for at least the first week. The cuttings should not be allowed to get dry because if the lower ends of the cuttings become parched, they may as well be thrown out. The beds should be sprinkled on bright mornings, and under favorable conditions roots will form in three or four weeks.

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