Slip (plant)

“ CHAP. 13.—PROPAGATION BY SLIPS AND CUTTINGS.
Nature has also discovered another method, which is very similar to the last—for slips torn away from the tree will live. In adopting this plan, care should be taken to pull out the haunch2937 of the slip where it adheres to the stock, and so remove with it a portion of the fibrous body of the parent tree. It is in this way that the pomegranate, the hazel, the apple, the sorb, the medlar, the ash, the fig, and more particularly the vine, are propagated. ”

“ The Chief Gardener picked up a red clover leaf, and pointed to a little thin pale-green husk where the stem joined the main stalk.
"Those are stipules," he said. "In the clover they grow together, as one. The stipules are a part of the outside of the leaf-bud. When the bud opens, and the leaf goes out into the world, the stipules stay behind. Sometimes they [221] are like little leaves, and take up air for the plant, just as the leaves do. Sometimes they almost take the place of leaves, and are quite large. Sometimes they are very tiny, and some plants have no stipules at all." ”

“ The rubber requires—and deserves—a good rich soil, and in the spring, summer and fall, all the water that the soil will keep absorbed. Give less in winter, as an excess at this time causes the leaves to turn yellow and droop.
As the rubber is more difficult to propagate than most house plants, and specimens will not get too large for several years, it will be best to get plants from the florist. It frequently happens, however, that an old plant which has been grown up to a single stem, becomes unwieldy, and bare at the bottom. ”

“ Not content with filling their hands with flowers, they fill their arms and even their carriage, if they have one. Moreover, the hold of the plant on the light, sandy soil is very slight; and the careless gatherer, not provided with knife or scissors, will almost invariably pull the root with the flower, thus totally annihilating that plant. ”

“ The flowers are terminal, from one to three, rarely more; though in the large purple and white Lady’s Slipper, the older and stronger plants will occasionally throw out three or four blossoms. This variety is found on the dry plain-lands, in grassy thickets, among the oak openings above Rice Lake, and eastward on the hills above the River Trent. This is most likely the plant described by Gray; the soil alone being different. The unfolded buds of this species are most beautiful, having the appearance of slightly flattened globes of delicately-tinted primrose coloured rice paper. ”

“ The lines of plants must run as far as practicable in geometrical regularity, particularly in sloping ground, never up and down or directly across the slope. If planted in the former manner, gutters or watercourses will form between the lines and the soil will be washed away, and if in the latter, the same injury will result between the shrubs. The lower side of each plant having its roots laid bare, the sun will act upon them, thereby causing the plants to shrivel up, languish and die. ”

“ When in flower the branches spread rigidly, but as the seed ripens the leaves begin to wither and drop off, the branches curl inward, and the plant becomes coiled up so as to resemble a small ball. In this state it is loosened from the soil and is drifted about with the sand over the arid plains. Should rain fall, or should it be blown into the water, the branches expand, the pods open, the seeds fall out, and it is a remarkable and newly-discovered fact that in the short space of twenty hours the seeds germinate and root. The plant will retain its susceptibility for years. ”

“ To propagate this fine border plant, the very long and fleshy roots may be cut into pieces 6in. long and dibbled into fine soil; they are somewhat slow, but pretty sure to "go"; they should be protected from slugs, which are very fond of the young leaves. On young stuff, grown apart from the flower beds and borders, quicklime may be used, which would otherwise be unsightly. ”

“ It loves moisture rather than rich elemental food. In clay it finds the best constituents of its development—moisture, silex, lime and alumnia. So we say to those who love this queenly flower, if you would see the queen in all her glory, plant in a comparatively heavy soil, no manure, and reduce the stalks to one for each tuber, set the stakes firmly, to keep the stalks from swaying, and if the season is dry, give the bulbs a soaking with water every evening during the drought. ”

“ In the fall, the dark-green foliage of the groundsel-tree is relieved by its abundant small white flower-clusters. The [ 106] flowers of the male shrub are never very beautiful, being usually of a yellowish or dirty white; indeed, so little resembling the other, as to appear like a separate species. But when the white silk down of the female shrub is fully expanded, its boughs are laden as with drifted snow. This lavish provision of silk is designed by nature for the wafting abroad of the seed. ”

“ The falling of the leaf is not an accident, nor is it dependent upon the wind; when the time comes, the leaves go down, wind or no wind, though doubtless the wind helps them. When they are fully ripe, the leaves let go! The cells that connect the leaf stem with the branch shrivel and shrink until the leaf is entirely separated from the parent plant; when this happens, the leaf falls. The ripe leaf is less juicy 189than the young leaf; its juices have departed and left the stiff, lifeless framework and the hardened skin, with the emptied cells beneath, to find their way to the earth. ”

“ Plants increase in size and beauty each year, and a five-or six-years clump is superb.
COOL, MOIST SPOTS BETWEEN STONES
109Cut off the stalks a few inches above the ground when killed by frost, but do not attempt to break them off or pull them up, as that will injure the crown of the large, fleshy roots and cause decay during the winter. The remainder of the stalk serves to mark the location of the plant. When they have grown to blooming size they should be tied to stout stakes. The large clumps have a tendency to spread at the roots, and a severe rain and wind storm may lay them prostrate. ”

“ A few small bracts occur at the base of the flower-head, which droops on a small stem. The heads are arranged in little clusters springing from the angles of the branches and leaves.
As the flower-head matures, there may be found within its nodding cup a bunch of fine reddish hairs, like a sable paint brush,—later this opens into a downy seed tassel. The fine stalk gives the plant a distinguished appearance. ”

“ The Walking Leaf grows usually on limestone [Pg 149] rocks, though it has been found on sandstone, shale, and conglomerate as well. I have also seen it on the stumps of decaying trees near limestone cliffs in Central New York, where it is a common plant, creeping along the shaded, mossy ledges above star-like tufts of the Maidenhair Spleenwort and fragile clusters of the Slender Cliff Brake, venturing to the brook's edge with sprays of the Bulblet Bladder Fern, and climbing the turreted summits of the hills close to the Purple Cliff Brake. ”

“ I grow it both in shade and fully exposed to the midday sun of summer, and, though a healthy specimen is grown in loam, I find others to do better in leaf mould mixed with grit and pebbles. It enjoys a rare immunity—the slugs let it alone, or at least my slugs do, for it is said that different tribes or colonies have different tastes. To propagate it, the little offsets about the footstalk should be cut off with a sharp knife when the parent plant has finished flowering; they will mostly be found to have nice long roots. Plant in leaf soil and grit, and keep them shaded for a month. ”

“ The flowers, of a dim lilac-purple, are on thick straight stems which spring directly from the roots, and, like sweet violets, they are mostly hidden by the luxuriant leaves. The leaves, which come in winter and spring, last pretty well all the year round, and the roots, the gardeners say, are enormous, and as they push through the crevices and wind themselves about among the stones it is impossible to get rid of the plant. ”

“ When well grown the leaves are often more than a yard long, and present a vivid and most striking coloration. Their midribs are 4 ins. or more across, and vary from a dark deep waxy orange to vivid polished crimson. The splendid hue of the lower part of the leaf-stalk flows on towards the point, and spreads in smaller streams through the main veins and ramifications of the great soft blade of the leaf, which is often 1 ft. and even 15 ins. in diameter, if the plant be in rich ground. The under sides of the leaves are most richly coloured, and the habit such that these sides are well seen. ”

“ The leaves are compound or pinnate, fifteen to eighteen inches long and of a dark, rich green on the upper side, glaucous beneath and with a rich red midrib—an elegant fern-like spray which is very useful in cut flower work and in autumn turns to the most vivid crimson imaginable. It does best when protected from severe wind, from which it seems to shrink, distorting its symmetrical growth. In good rich soil a half dozen offshoots may appear the second year after planting and after one has once become familiar with its beauty all will be welcome. ”

“ Agropyrum repens (var. junceum) is similar in habit and station, but its spikes and spikelets are very different (see p. 107) .
Phleum arenarium is much smaller (see below) .
✲✲ Erect. Inflorescence rarely longer than three inches. Spikelets flat: glumes keeled, the keel suddenly produced into a sharp stiff awn or mucronate point. Paleæ two.
Phleum.
† Tall perennial meadow-grass. Awn bristle-like, almost as long as the nearly glabrous glume: spike long, cylindrical.
P. pratense, L.
†† Small, compact annual shore plant, with the glumes acute only and the keel ciliate above. ”

“ The leafy stalk (from 1 to 2 feet high) is oblique and zigzag in gesture; it has a strong fibre, and a smooth surface, and is light green.
The leaf is oval—long in proportion to its width,—tapering to a slender tip, with an entire and much ruffled margin, and 3 noticeable ribs; the surface is finely downy; the color a strong, vigorous green. The leaves have almost no stem at all, and are placed alternately along the stalk.
The flower is small, with 6 petal-like parts and 6 stamens, all greenish white. Many flowers are gathered in a branching cluster upon the end of the leafy curving stalk. ”

“ The buds appear already formed, early in the spring; as soon as the snow leaves the ground they appear as a small, round green ball well settled down in the middle of the leaf-tuffet; this bunch of buds pushes itself boldly up, on its thick stem, which is still quite short when the flowers begin to open. As the stem lengthens the clustered flowers become less dense until, finally, it reaches its full height, and the blossoms, fully expanded, spread loosely apart; they remain in perfection a long time—two or three weeks. ”

“ The male flowers are produced in great numbers in drooping catkins at the ends of the branches, shedding the pollen in early spring before the leaves unfold. The female flowers are produced on the same branches, but lower down, and in much smaller numbers. The stigmas are long, and covered with minute hairs that catch the pollen which is shaken out in clouds every time the plant is shaken by the wind, and falls in a shower over the stigmas. ”

“ In the mean while plenty of barren flowers are produced on a distinct root, on short straight stalks, from which they rise like little separate white bubbles, suddenly expanding when they reach the surface, and floating about in such abundance as to cover it entirely. Thus their pollen is scattered over the stigmas of the first-mentioned blossoms, whose stalks soon afterwards resume their spiral figure, and the fruit comes to maturity at the bottom of the water. ”

“ The creeping stalk sends up an erect stem, leafy at the top, about 4 or 5 inches high, woody-fibred and tough, and smooth to the touch. Its color is green,—red toward the root.
The leaf is a broad oval, with a rounded tip, an obscurely notched margin, of a tough and thick fibre, and smooth, polished surface. It is evergreen: when old a dark green, often bronzy; more yellow-green, tinged with dull red, when young. The alternate leaves, on very short stems, are clustered at the top of the stalk. ”

“ Trees nailed against a north wall turn their leaves from the wall, though it be towards the north, and in direct opposition to those on a southern wall over against them. Plants in a hot-house all present the fronts of their leaves, and this influences even the posture of the branches, to the side where there is most light, but neither to the quarter where most air is admitted, nor to the flue in search of heat. If the branches of a trained fruit-tree in full leaf be disturbed in their position, the leaves resume their original direction in the course of a day or two. ”

“ A shrub, with round, woody-fibred, smooth stems; the old growth is of a light gray color, while the new shoots are green, and dull red.
The oval leaf, wide at the bottom, is very tapering at the tip; the closely and finely toothed edges are more or less ruffled; the surface is smooth, and the texture like silk; the color is a strong, warm green, often showing traces of red on the margin, and in the midrib. The leaves are in pairs, on short, stout, and partly clasping foot-stems. ”

“ When young the cap is convex and quite firm, with the margin minutely downy or adorned with mealy particles, and incurved. In the mature plant it is softer, broadly convex, or nearly plane, with the thin margin spreading and more or less turned upward and wavy. When young it is pale lilac in color, but with advancing age it changes to a tawny or rusty hue, especially in the center. Sometimes the cap is white, whitish or gray, or of a pale violaceous color. ”