The propagator's handbook [antikvár]

1 INTRODUCTION: WHY BOTHER? Lenten roses are much better garden plants than the well-known Christmas roses. They flower more freely, grow more reliably and are less at risk from pests and diseases. Special forms like Trotter's Spotted' will not come true from seed, but all the seedlings will have attractive flowers, and will grow into immensely long-lived plants that will become more impressive as the years pass. Established plants sow themselves in the garden, but new ones can be introduced, or particularly attractive strains increased, by sowing their seeds {recipe 18) and growing on seedlings Gardening rumours and potting shed whispers may have persuaded you that only experienced Adams and Eves with distinctly green fingers can be successful propagators. But this is a book for beginners as well as established gardeners. It is for people whose gardening has to be fitted into a busy life, and for grey-thumbed Lynns whose efforts seem doomed to end with fallen seedlings and wilted cuttings. For propagation is not difficult unless we make it so. Plants have done it unaided and successfully for aeons, and we need only provide conditions that let them get on with it This is a book which will show you how to propagate using simple equipment that works without fuss. Anyone can follow the directions without squandering money, wasting precious time or relying on years of experience. You will find descriptions of how to propagate plants laid out as clearly and unambiguously as possible, like recipes in a cookery book. The methods described are those which 1 have used again - and again. Other ways could be used and variations could be introduced, and if you want to try them, do so - it's the best way to learn - but don't ask me to guarantee the results! Many readers will not be gardeners already equipped with the mental agility and resilience needed to cope with the natural wilfulness of plants. They will be aspiring gardeners. Some will be accountants, local government officials, retired admirals or computer programmers who have learnt to follow rules like guiding tapes, marking a path through minefields of doubt. The ebb and flow of ifs, buts and perhapses that govern everything we do in our gardens may come as a shock to tliem. So, each recipe is presented as a single track following a well-marked path to its destination. It tells you the best times of year to do things and the most economical equipment to use. It also tells you how to grow the seedlings and rooted cuttings on afterwards until they are big enough to take their places in the garden. It is an approach that cannot always work. A thousand interruptions - the weather, the neighbour's cat, one's own children, better things to do, acts of God