Layering is a safe, sure, simple way to increase many types of plants, and particularly the climbers and danglers with which this book is concerned. The first requirement is that the plant have long, lax or drooping stems – which vining plants do. The rest is easy, because the stem is not severed from the parent until the new plant is well rooted and can survive on its own. Humidifying devices, bottom heat, and close protection are seldom called for.

Garden plants layer readily, sometimes even spontaneously. And layering is equally easy for indoor or greenhouse vines. A wandering stem or runner is simply pinned down on the soil in a nearby pot, and severed when it is securely rooted.

Ground layering in the garden takes place at the base of the parent plant. Loosen and lighten a small section of soil, and mix in some peat or other humus to help hold moisture. Select a firm, semiwoody stem, and open the thick skin in one of several ways to speed up rooting. The stem can be nicked underneath with a sharp knife, or split and held open by a small piece of toothpick or match, or simply twisted just enough to break the outside skin and separate a few of the inside tissues. Some plants insist on rooting at or near a node, others don’t care where. And some softer stems don’t even need to be nicked.

Every gardener wishes they had a greenhouse no matter how big or small it might be. You can watch the snow pile up and still be able to start seed in preparation for spring and planting of the flower or vegetable garden. Those plants you loose every winter can be safe and sound inside a greenhouse and be ready to come out once the temperatures get more moderate. DIY Greenhouse building is not a hard undertaking. There are many different styles of greenhouse you can purchase and construct that will take you just a few hours to a few days of some work.

Before building a greenhouse there are a few things that have to be addressed. Warm climate greenhouses usually have no need for heating. The sun comes in and heats up the house during the day and keeps it warm enough during the night. What does have to be addressed is shading so that you do not fry your plants when the sun is high in the sky and how to ventilate the greenhouse so they do not smother with the sun’s heat. Cold climate greenhouses have to be concerned with how they should be heated and insulated to keep that cold out during the winter.