278 



GARDENERS' CHRONICLE 



SEASONS FOR PLANTING PLANTS AND 

 LAWNS 



PLANTING seasons for herbaceous perennials are 

 divided into Spring and Autumn in the North. One 

 of the first factors when planting older plants is the 

 blooming period of the species under consideration. As 

 the blooming period is one of great activity above the 

 ground, those plants which bloom late in the season, like 

 Anemone Japonica and Chrysanthemums, should be 

 moved in the Spring when they can make root growth 

 more quickly and thus recover from the shock. On the 

 other hand, those plants which bloom and mature early 

 are practically dormant in late Summer and early Autumn. 

 Thus, Iris and Peonies can be moved safely about Sep- 

 tember 1, and will recover quickly and make new roots 

 before cold weather sets in, whereas they are very active 

 in Spring and often do not recover from the shock of 

 being moved at that time unless the work is done very 

 early. These are probably the first sorts fit to move in 

 the Autumn season, and other sorts follow along as they 

 mature. The planting season for perennials would open 

 earlier in the Spring on a light soil than on a heavy one, 

 both for a mechanical reason and because a heavy soil 

 warms up more slowly. The te.xture of the soil is a 

 factor afifecting the planting season of perennials more 

 than it does other larger rooted plants, and it is better to 

 delay Spring planting until the soil is in good condition 

 to handle and is warm. Thus the Spring perennial sea- 

 son is likely to start later and last longer than that for 

 woody deciduous plants, and also start earlier and stop 

 earlier in the .\utumn. Pot-grown plants and seedlings 

 can be transplanted at odd seasons whenever the weather 

 is right, but is generally best to wait till Spring for all 

 young herbaceous plants, thus giving them the whole 

 growing season in which to get established. Care should 

 he taken not to bring tender plants out too early, before 

 they have been hardened off, or too late, when the torrid 

 Summer days will wilt them down before they take root. 



The Spring seeding season for lawn grass starts in the 

 Lower Austral Zone in February, about the middle ofthe 

 month, and continues to May I, but may be shut off by 

 the advent of hot weather as early as March 1. As one 

 goes farther north, the season does not lengthen very 

 much, but merely opens later, extending from about 

 April' 15 to June 1. Thus this seeding season, to a great 

 extent, overlaps the planting season and cannot be pro- 

 tracted past the closing date for planting without great 

 risk of the bad effect of hot weather on the young grass. 

 The Autumn season starts in the North as early as Au- 

 crust 1 and closes not later than October 1, but generally 

 by the 15th or 20th of September, thus not overlappmg 

 the Autumn planting season to any extent. As one goes 

 southward, the season again merely shifts along, so that 

 in the Upper Austral Zone, it opens about September 15 

 and closes about November 1, while in the Lower Austral 

 it is ptished along to October 15. Here the common 

 practice of seeding stops, except for the use of English 

 Rye as a green Winter carpet, and is superseded by the 

 practice of "sprigging" or planting pieces of Bermuda 

 and St Augustine Grass. This grass planting is com- 

 monly done in southern Florida in June, while farther 

 north and especially in Alabama, it is done through the 

 Winter months so as to take advantage of the then abun- 

 dant rains. , , i ^ »• 



Grass seed sown too early in the Autumn and not arti- 

 ficially watered will generally lie dormant until the -all 

 rains start germination, and likewise seed sown too late 

 in the Autumn or too early in the Spring will he dormant 

 until the ground warms up sufficiently to start sprouting 

 The "rass seeding season is from the time the ground 



gets warm enough in the Spring until it gets too cold in 

 the Autumn to start the germination process, but this sea- 

 son is as a matter of practice divided into two parts by 

 the period in the Summer when the ground is too dry to 

 start germination and the weather is so hot as to require 

 constant artificial watering, both to start germination of 

 the seed and keep the young plants alive. It is also gen- 

 erally considered wiser not to seed so late in the Autumn, 

 in the North, that the young grass plants will not be well 

 established before freezing weather. — Albert D. Taylor 

 in Landseapc Arehitecture. 



WATERING, CULTIVATING AND MULCHING 



LJAPPY are they who know just when to discontinue 

 the practice of watering, or to withhold water, 

 when to apply it would be to the disadvantage of 

 the crops. Water should never be applied to the extent 

 that the soil becomes sodden. This prevents proper soil 

 aeration, and is detrimental to the formation of plant 

 foods. It favors acidity of the soil, a very harmful con- 

 dition. Water should not be applied to the extent that 

 it hinders timely cultivation, nor in such quantities that 

 it runs away as drainage. When this occurs it always 

 removes large or small quantities of valuable plant food 

 in solution. Thus when the soil is saturated to about 

 eighteen inches or two feet deep, and this can be deter- 

 mined, water should be withheld until after proper culti- 

 vation, the plants require a fresh supply. Continual 

 heavy waterings deplete the soil of available plant food 

 more completely than does the crop to which the water 

 is applied. 



The general discontinuance of watering garden crops 

 should take place at the first sign of maturity. At this 

 time the crops do not draw so heavily upon the moisture 

 in the soil. Water in large quantities is thus unneces- 

 sary, and if applied may be harmful. As growth declines 

 a natural but gradual drying oft' process takes place, and 

 as the roots lose their function they will rot in a wet soil. 

 Just an instance of this — onions which have been over- 

 watered during the ripening process, or if the season is 

 wet, often rot in the soil. Sometimes through these 

 causes they do not ripen properly and will not keep for 

 any length of time when stored away for the Winter. 



Overwatering the crops may be equally as harmful as 

 insufficient applications. Experience is the great teacher. 

 In the hands of an inexperienced person the hose or the 

 watering can may do more harm than good. Not so 

 when experience has taught the way. For when properly 

 used to supplement cultivation they are of the greatest 

 value during a dry season. 



As crops approach maturity, and their spreading foli- 

 age prevents cultivation, it may if dry weather prevails 

 be excellent practice to afford a mulch of some kind to 

 hold the moisture. If a mulch of stable litter — straw 

 shaken out of the manure pile by means of a fork — is 

 spread along or between the rows, the soil moisture will 

 not readily escape. It is not good practice to mulch too 

 early in the Summer, as the mulching material must be 

 removed every time cultivation is undertaken. This on 

 a large plot means labor. The greatest disadvantage, 

 however, accrues from the fact that if the soil is not cul- 

 tivated every few days roots are encouraged to the sur- 

 face, and when cultivation is performed and the soil 

 thoroughly stirred, the roots are broken and a severe 

 check to growth may be administered. Thus in the case 

 of maturing crops, or those which have spread so as to 

 prevent proper cultivation, a mulch is proper and may 

 be of the greatest value. — Canadian Horticulturist. 



