Sucker (plant)

“ As, however, the nourishment it can expect to derive from its own resources will be at first much less than what it obtained from its parent, it is customary, when a sucker is removed, to cut in its head, to prevent the evaporation from its leaves being greater than its roots can supply food for. Sometimes when the parent is strong, part of the horizontal root to which the sucker was attached is cut off and planted with the young plant. ”

“ Many roses throw up suckers readily from the root, and often form one of the principal causes of annoyance to the cultivator. For this reason, budding and grafting should always be done on stocks that do not incline to sucker. The Dog Rose—on which almost all the imported varieties are now worked—is particularly liable to this objection, and it is no unusual thing to see half-a-dozen suckers growing about a single rose-tree. When the health and prosperity of the plant are desired, these should be carefully kept down, as they deprive the plant of a material portion of its nourishment. ”

“ As the plant becomes older a sucker is sent out close to the surface, from which there springs up a daughter plant. Adventitious roots occur along the course of this sucker, particularly where the daughter shoot arises. Occasionally the connection between the daughter shoot and the mother plant is not destroyed, and the adventitious roots in that case are not very numerous nor very long. ”

“ In newly burnt off scrub land all that is necessary is, to dig holes 15 to 18 inches in diameter, and about 2 feet deep, set the young plants in it, and partly fill in the hole with good top soil. The young plant, which consists of a sucker taken from an older plant, will soon take root and grow rapidly under favourable conditions, producing its first bunch in from ten to twelve months after planting. At the same time that it is producing its first bunch it will send up two or more suckers at the base of the parent plant, and these in turn will bear fruit, and so on. ”

“ These pads act as suckers for the dodder and draw from the clover all the ready-formed nourishment that the dodder requires, so that it has no work to do in food building. It has no roots because it needs none; the suckers act as roots in getting all the water and also the manufactured food [111] the plant uses; for the same reason it requires neither leaves nor green chlorophyll, and its body is only a colourless or pinkish mass of thread-like stems and sucker pads. ”

“ But only certain plants throw up suckers, such as the rose, the raspberry, the lilac, the English elm, &c. Offsets are only formed on bulbs, and runners are only thrown out by strawberries, brambles, and a few other plants; and thus these modes of propagation are extremely limited in practice. No plants produce suckers but those that send out strong horizontal roots; and the sucker is in fact a bud from one of these roots which has pushed its way up through the soil, and become a stem. ”

“ The proper time for suckering is early in the spring, when the young wood is yet tender and easily broken. With a hard and flat piece of wood, the lower suckers are dug out from below the ground, while the upper suckers may be broken by hand. A sucker must be understood to be any branch which does not produce fruit at a time when the vine is old enough to bear. In strong and moist soil and on strong vines even the lowest shoots produce grapes, and can therefore hardly be called suckers. ”

“ This shrub thrives on almost any soil, but it produces the most beautiful flowers on rich, light land, though it flourishes best on wet grounds. It is propagated by suckers, which should be separated from the parent plants in the month of October, and set in a nursery, in rows three feet asunder, each sucker being one foot distant from the other. In the second or third year, they may be removed to the spot where they are intended to remain. After this operation, no farther attention will be required, except digging about their roots once in the course of the year, and cutting off the suckers ”

“ After growing for a length of time they become tough and attached so firmly to the stem of the leaf and stalk that they (p. 029) are broken off with difficulty, frequently detaching the leaf with them. The growth of the suckers, however, determines the quality as well as the maturity of the plants.
Weak, spindling plants rarely produce large, vigorous shoots, the leaves of such suckers are generally small and of a yellowish color. ”

“ Well-developed suckers are usually preferred, as these come into bearing earliest, but equally good, if not better, returns are obtained by planting gill sprouts. The latter have the advantage in that they always develop a good root system before showing signs of fruit, hence their first crop is always a good one, and the fruit is of the best, whereas suckers sometimes start flowering as soon as they are planted, before they are properly established, with the result that the first fruit is small and inferior, and the plants have to throw out fresh suckers before a good crop is produced. ”

“ The rows soon increase in width by the growth of suckers, and the throwing up of ratoons—surface roots thrown off from the original plant, which send up plants from below the ground as distinct from suckers, which come from the base or even higher up the stem of a fruiting plant. ”

“ The first dorsal fin is almost entirely concealed by the skin, appearing merely as a lump on the back. The lump-sucker inhabits the coasts of both sides of the North Atlantic; it is not rare on the British coasts, but becomes more common farther north. It is so sluggish in its habits that individuals have been caught with sea-weed growing on their backs. ”

“ When all the leaves have been primed from the original stalk, except three or four at the top, two suckers are allowed to grow from the bottom of the stalk. When the remaining leaves are removed, the stalk is cut just above where the suckers sprout and the field is immediately cultivated. It is claimed that when the season is favorable very good filler-tobacco is produced from the suckers. ”

“ If the sucker, or scion, is slightly longer than the upper end of the cut, it can be bent outward at the same time that the scion is being inserted and thus a spring is secured making it easier to force the scion up between bark and wood. I should add that if the lesion is not at the base of the tree, suckers usually arise just below it in any case, and these can be inarched in the same way as the basal shoots. ”

“ The suckers, in all cases of this sort, should constantly be planted as soon as possible after they are slipped, in proper small upright pots, giving a slight watering at the time, with suitable temporary shade. They should be placed in proper situations out of the droppings of trees. They thus soon become rooted. The suckers of such flower-plants must, however, never be removed after the latter of the above periods, as they have then done shooting, and are become inactive, and as the winter immediately succeeds, seldom do well, especially without great care and trouble. ”

“ Suckers from the roots should be removed to a limited extent, that is, now and then a sucker may be left in order to give material for forming a new head, if this should be found necessary. But as a rule the many suckers which rise from the roots should be removed in early spring with a sharp-pointed stick, and even those which rise from below the regular head should be broken off while young, or be pruned off in winter time. ”

“ The young suckers or shoots may also be tied together and blanched, using them like asparagus or Swiss chard. But few of these plants would be needed for a family, as they produce a number of flower-heads to a plant and a quantity of suckers. ”

“ The stronger growing kinds thrive well in rich, well-drained loam and leaf mould. Propagation is effected by carefully taking off the suckers which form at the base, after the plants have done flowering; but, before doing this, they should be allowed to attain a good size. The suckers grow quickly when attached to the parent stem, from which they derive their strength, and feel the check less when severed ”

“ Fairholt makes a mistake in speaking of the planter as re-setting the suckers, and his statement shows him to be entirely unacquainted with the habits of the plant. As soon as the plants are harvested, the stump of the plant remaining in the ground puts forth one or more vigorous suckers or shoots, which often in a good season grow almost as high as the parent stalk. In some tobacco-growing sections one or two crops of suckers are gathered besides the first crop. ”

“ Not over two or three suckers should be allowed to each plant the first year; after the first year leave five to eight in each hill, depending on the kind of soil, fertility, etc.
When plants are cheap and plentiful it is customary to use two in each hill to insure a good stand the first year, but it is reasonable to expect, however, where there are two root systems in each hill instead of one that in after years there would be more troublesome suckers to remove than if there was but one root in each hill, and this is no small matter with some varieties. ”

“ The anthers and the pistil are pale yellow and the flower-stalks have two bracts just beneath the calyx.
There are many kinds of Cuscuta, or Dodder, widely distributed and difficult to distinguish; leafless parasites, without green coloring, with twining, threadlike stems and inconspicuous flowers, in clusters. The seed germinates in the soil and produces a twining stem, which attaches itself to a neighbor by means of suckers. ”

“ Globe Artichokes may also be grown from suckers planted out in April when about nine inches high. Put them in rather deep, tread in firmly, and lay on any rough mulch that may be handy. Should the weather be dry they will require watering, and during a hot dry spell water and liquid manure should be given freely to insure a good supply of large heads. Seedlings that are started well in a suitable bed take better care of themselves than do plants from suckers, especially in a dry season. Vigorous seedlings send down their roots to a great depth. ”

“ Scuppernong vines are to be found on arbors, in gardens, or half wild, on trees and fences on nearly every farm in the South Atlantic States. As{401} a rule, these vines receive little cultivation, are unpruned, and are given no care of any kind, but even under neglect they produce large and sure crops, are almost immune to mildew, rot, phylloxera, or other fungal or insect pests. The plants give not only an abundance of fruit but on arbors and trellises are much prized for their shade and beauty. The growth of the vine is prodigious ”

“ Where there is mildew, after syringing the plant, dust it on the affected parts with flowers of sulphur, and set them for a few days where they will be sheltered from the wind, after which wash off the sulphur. If the cure is not complete, renew the dose. Always sweep out and dry up the water in the house when any is spilt. The succulent plants will be in want of a little water about once a week, but do not overwater them, as there is not heat enough to absorb much moisture. If the soil is damp, it is quite sufficient. ”

“ The pineapple comes into bearing early, and, except where suckers throw fruit as soon as planted, bear their first crop in from twelve to twenty months, according to the type of suckers planted and the time of year at which they are set. Practically every sucker will produce a fruit at the first fruiting, and these will be followed by succeeding crops, borne on the successive crops of suckers, so that when the whole of the ground is occupied by plants, the returns are very heavy. ”

“ This odious disease, though more or less always present in the garden, appears generally in marked strength twice in the season—first in spring, when the foliage is just fully developed, and secondly after the midsummer shoots are grown.
It must be attacked early before it gets any hold, in fact, before it actually shows, if we have reason to suspect its presence. Flowers of Sulphur is the most usual and effective preventive. It is blown over the plants with bellows made specially for the purpose. Floating like a fine cloud all over the garden it settles on every part of the plant. ”

“ The flowers of Succory used to rank among the four cordial flowers, and a water was distilled from them to allay inflammation of the eyes. The seeds contain abundantly a demulcent oil, whilst the petals furnish a glucoside which is colourless unless treated with alkalies, when it becomes of a golden yellow.
SUNDEW. The Sundew (Ros solis, or Drosera rotundifolia) is a little plant always eagerly recognised in marshy and heathy grounds by ardent young botanists. In the sun its leaves seem tipped with dew (drosos) . ”

“ Also numerous herbaceous and succulent plants are productive of bottom offset suckers from the roots, by which they may be increased. In slipping and planting these sorts of offset suckers, the smaller ones should be planted in nursery beds, pots, &c. according to the nature of growth and temperature of the different sorts, to have the advantage of one summer's advanced growth ”

“ It is stated that suckers one-half meter in height mature in about three years, while suckers one meter in height or over will produce suitable leaves in one year or less. The most satisfactory results are obtained by transplanting the mature plants, since leaves are obtainable in a few months and in half a year suckers large enough for transplanting are produced. It is stated that in setting the plants out, the undergrowth is cleared away and the suckers are placed in the ground about 11⁄2 meters apart. Some attention is given to the young plants such as loosening the earth around them ”