Layers
Several of the perennial herbs, such as sage, savory, and thyme, may be
easily propagated by means of layers, the stems being pegged down and
covered lightly with earth. If the moisture and the temperature be
favorable, roots should be formed in three or four weeks and the stem
separated from the parent and planted. Often there may be several
branches upon the stem, and each of these may be used as a new plantlet
provi
ed it has some roots or a rooted part of the main stem attached to
it. By this method I have obtained nearly 100 rooted plants from a
single specimen of Holt's Mammoth sage grown in a greenhouse. And from
the same plant at the same time I have taken more than 100 cuttings.
This is not an exceptional feat with this variety, the plants of which
are very branchy and often exceed a yard in diameter.
Layering is probably the simplest and most satisfactory method of
artificial propagation under ordinary conditions, since the stems are
almost sure to take root if undisturbed long enough; and since rooted
plants can hardly fail to grow if properly transplanted. Then, too, less
apparent time is taken than with plants grown from cuttings and far less
than with those grown from seed. In other words, they generally produce
a crop sooner than the plants obtained by the other methods set in
operation at the same time.