196 General Botany 



Roots and transplanting. Only a few years ago it was thought 

 impossible to transplant large trees or even medium sized conifers. 

 Today trees of large size are dug up, transported many miles, 

 and replanted successfully. Even whole hedgerows several feet 

 in height are transplanted without injury. This advance in the 

 art of tree moving is a fine example of the appKcation of a knowl- 

 edge of root physiology to practical problems. 



We have learned that the absorbing part of the roots is mostly 

 in the root-hair zone near the root tips and that the older roots 

 are largely organs of conduction. Formerly, when a tree was 

 dug up for transplanting, all the roots were cut off 3 or 4 feet from 

 the base of the stem. This operation destroyed practically all 

 the absorbing organs, and the tree could not absorb water from 

 the soil until a new set of roots had developed. Meanwhile 

 transpiration went on and the plant cells lost so much water that 

 they were injured and not infrequently killed. 



Success in transplanting is attained by gradually trimming the 

 roots months before the tree is moved, and by loosening the soil 

 near the tree so as to develop a mass of absorbing roots near the 

 base of the stem. When the tree is Hfted, the roots are not cut 

 off, but as many as possible of them are carefully removed from 

 the soil. The small roots of trees are killed by drying, and for 

 this reason they are protected from wilting by being bound up in 

 wet moss. Sometimes the trees are loosened somewhat in the 

 autumn and moved during the winter, together with much of 

 the frozen soil surrounding the roots. Successful transplanting 

 depends upon reducing temporarily the loss of water by trimming 

 the top, preserving the absorbing roots, and exercising care in 

 handling both roots and stems so that they may not be injured. 

 In transplanting smaller plants the greatest care should be 

 taken to prevent the drying out of the youngest roots. Many of 

 the roots are sure to be injured in the digging and resetting, and 

 efficient absorption is thereby reduced. This reduced absorption 

 may be balanced by trimming off a part of the stem or leaves. 



