Garden Work

Rambling, climbing and shrub roses can sometimes be propagated by layering: burying a section of stem in the ground so that it produces new roots while still attached to the parent plant. Choose a long, flexible stem, and make a 3-inch slit in the part to be buried. Wedge it open with a stick. Bend the stem down and bury the cut portion under a few inches of soil. Peg it in place with a wire clothes hanger or forked stick. Fasten the end of the stem to a cane, to keep it upright. Keep moist until next spring, by which time it should have rooted, and can be severed from its umbilical cord.