For April, 1920 



153 



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I A Lesson on Transplanting | 



I Being Unc of a Series of Lessons of a Home Study Course on GardeninK', Appt-ariiij^ Rej^ularly in The Gardeners' Chronicle 1 



I Under the Direction of ARTHUR SMITH | 



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Proper Time for Transplanting 

 While under certain conditions, trees and shrubs may be trans- 

 planted every month in the year, and although for a number 

 of permanent subjects Autuinn is preferable to Spring, yet there 

 is no doubt that in the more northern parts of the country, more 

 transplanting is done in April than in any other month. 



Although it should not be considered impossible to avoid any 

 loss in transplanting, it is improbable that loss will be entirely 

 eliminated, and when it does occur it is generally due to want 

 of care in tlic actual carrying out of the operation, or to some 

 neglect in treating the plant previously to its commencement. 

 Success in transplanting depends upon proper care and treat- 

 ment during the several stages a plant has to pass through from 

 the earliest moment of its life until it is placed in the position 

 it is to occupy permanently for the remainder of its existence. 



Underlying Principles Involved in Transplanting 



The underlying principles involved in transplanting are the 

 same whether we onsider them in reference to a large tree 

 costing several hundred dollars for the transplanting alone, or 

 in reference to a cabbage plant. 



High class growers of plants always keep tlieir stock in the 

 best condition for transplanting by frequently moving them 

 about in the nursery, or by root pruning, which cause the plant 

 to produce a mass of fibrous roots close to the stem, instead of 

 roots of a long straggling character which must always be se- 

 riously damaged when the plant is lifted. The most important 

 thing abiiut plants is their roots, and success or failure in trans- 

 planting depends almost entirely upon what is done, or upon 

 what is left undone, in respect to them. 



Stock properly treated in the nursery or seed bed costs very 

 much more to produce, and is cheaper at a comparatively high 

 price, than low-priced stock which has been allowed to take care 

 of itself, and has had nothing done to it from the time it was 

 first set out in the nursery until it is dug up for shipment. Not 

 only is the risk of transplanting properly cared for plants re- 

 duced almost to van'shing point (provided subsequent treatment 

 is right), but stock of this kind receives little or no check to its 

 growth ; while low class stock, if it lives, practically stands still 

 for a greater or less length of time, which, in some connections, 

 may amount to years. Badly fcrown and stunted plants — how- 

 ever well thev may be afterwards treated — never reach the same 

 degree of perfection as those which have from the earliest moment 

 of their lives lived under the best conditions. 



After so caring for a plant, which is destined to be trans- 

 planted, in such a way as to reduce the shock of the operation, 

 the next step is the digging of it up from the position in which 

 it has been growing. In this the ideal to be aimed at is to 

 avoid destroying or mutilating any of the roots, and to further 

 prevent any of them being killed by the action of the sun and 

 wind drying them out. Then it is possible to still further re- 

 duce, or ruin, the chances of a plant recovering from the shock 

 of removal, by allowing the roots to be exposed to drying out 

 influences after unpacking, or otherwise, while waiting for holes 

 to be dug. &c., and this stage presents another opportunity for 

 reducing the plant's vitality and its chances to recover from the 

 operation, if it recovers at all. 



Correct Method of Transplanting 

 The manner of plantuig has considerable influence for good or 

 evil. If roots arc crammed into a hole several sizes too small 

 only a limited proportion of them can begin to recommence their 

 functions. Room should be given for the roots to be spread out 

 at least to their fullest extent, but also the wider the ground 

 is broken up beyond the roots the better, as this enables them 

 to .grow and spread more easily. 



Depth of planting is an important considerat'on. Some things, 

 such as shrubs, roses, cabbage plants, may be planted deeper 

 than they stood in their previous positions, as fhey will throw 

 out new roots from higher up their stems ; but trees should not 

 be set out more than two or ihrec inches deeper than they were 

 before. Planting at an excessive depth renders the roots liable 

 to suffocation for the want of oxygen. Thoroughly firming the 

 soil around the roots is necessary for proper root action to take 

 place. .Sometimes the method is adopted in the case of a con- 

 siderable amount and spread of roots, of keeping a hose .going 

 over the soil as it is fille<l in around them so as to be sure of 



having all the spaces among the roots thoroughly full of soil, 

 and in any case a good watering is essential. Care must be taken 

 to always leave a few inches of fine loose soil at the top so as to 

 allow air to enter. 



While many plants arc allowed to die for want of water sub- 

 sequent to transplanting, it is at the same time possible to kill 

 by overwatering. This latter is most liable to occur in connec- 

 tion with a clayey or undrained soil, as if the surplus water can- 

 not drain away and the soil remains water-logged for any length 

 of time, conditions will he created which will again be liable 

 to cause the roots to be suffocated. 



It will be seen that a plant may have to pass through the hands 

 of several different persons in its progress from the nursery to 

 its permanent position, and if one fails to do ihe right thing, 

 the correct methods of the remainder are nullified. (Ihviously 

 where all the stages are in the charge of one individual who un- 

 derstands the work, the chances of success are immeasurably in- 

 creased. When all the circumstances connected with transplant- 

 ing are under one control, failures, while not impossible, become 

 extremely rare. 



Too frequently during the course of transplanting, plants are 

 subjected, as individuals, to the same treatment as one would 

 give to a fence post. The fact should be recognized to its fullest 

 extent that a plant is a living organism, and that transplanting 

 at its best is more or less a violent operation which inflicts 

 a shock upon the plant's system. In addition to what previous 

 preparaticn may be necessary to that end. the great aim should 

 be from the moment we commence lifting a plant, to reduce the 

 violence of this operation to as near vanishing point as pos- 

 sible. As pointed out above, the part of a plant wh'ch is most 

 directly affected by the operation is its roots, and the less the 

 amount of care exercised in the work the greater the amount of 

 roots, especially the more important younger ones and the root- 

 hairs, which will be destroyed. 



Functions of Roots Tow.\rds Transplanting 



It appears worth while to brieflj' consider roots, and the part 

 they play in a plant's life. 



We saw last month that as soon as a seed begins to germinate 

 a root emerges from the seed-case and commences to grow down 

 into the soil, this is known as the primary root. As growth 

 progresses this roct sends out branches which ramify through 

 the soil. Plants have also the power of sending out roots from 

 other parts of the stem above the point at which the shoot was 

 originally attached to the seed, this can easily be seen in the case 

 rf corn, for example. .Also parts of plants lying on the .ground, 

 as in the case rf trailing vines and unstakcd trmatoes, will emit 

 roots, and the forming of new plants from cuttings is only suc- 

 cessful when the cuttings form roots. 



Roots have two functions, one being to anchor the plant to 

 the soil, and the other to supply the plant with food and water. 

 The plant's food is always dissolved in the water taken up by 

 its roots, and it can feed in no other way. Not only is moisture 

 in the soil necessary before roots can absorb plant food, but 

 m.-iisture encourages and excites root growth. Cuttings of many 

 plants will c|uickly form roots when immersed in water, pro- 

 vided oxx'gen is present. 



Like all other parts of i)lants, roots are composed of cells 

 which arc full of protoplasm. .As protoplasm cannot exist in a 

 living state without oxygen, and since roots grow by the con- 

 tinual formation of new cells, roots must have access to the 

 oxygen of the air or they can neiiher grow nor I've. We can 

 easily prove this by placing a slip of any plant which will root in 

 water, such as a willow cutting, into a jar containing water that 

 has been boiled for ten minutes or so to drive out oxygen and 

 then cooled c|uickly. .After the cutting has been put in, pour 

 over the water enough salad oil to form a film to exclude oxygen. 

 Insert another similar cutiin.g into a jar of water without oil and 

 I>lace them both in a warm room. In a few days roots will start 

 freely from the cutting in the jar of which the water has access 

 to the air but not in the other. Wc can carry the experiment 

 further by placing the rooted cutting in the water from which 

 oxvgen is excluded, when the roots will very soon die. 



.Almost immediately roots are formed, hairs grow out from 

 them. These rool-hairs are of the utmost importance as almost 

 the entire water supply and all food are absorbed through these 

 hairs. Each hair is really a sin.gle elongated cell and is filled 



