PLANTING AND TRANSPLANTING 35 



has a larger spread of roots than plants grown in nursery rows, and 

 as it has never been previously transplanted or root pruned it suffers 

 more severely through loss of root system. Top pruning must there- 

 fore be more severe for collected plants than for nursery material, to 

 offset the greater loss of roots. Collected stock usually requires a 

 longer period in which to become well established in its new location. 

 When the loss in transplanted stock is ten or fifteen per cent., the aver- 

 rage loss in collected stock may be as high as twenty per cent. The 

 usual period required for establishing nursery stock in its new loca- 

 tion is two years. The usual period for estabhshing collected stock may 

 range from two to four years. 



Season of Year for Transplanting. Planting seasons in differ- 

 ent localities are influenced by many factors. Soil conditions and 

 climatic conditions are the most important, as seen in Chapter II. 

 Heavy soils are more friable during the fall, while during the spring 

 they remain heavy, cold, and wet until quite late. In such soils if but 

 little planting is to be done it is better to plant during the spring 

 months for the reason that clay soils tend, through frost action during 

 the winter months, to heave out material which is planted in the fall. 

 It is undoubtedly true that fall planting, especially in heavy soils, 

 requires more thorough winter protection than spring planting in the 

 same soil. On the other hand, if a quantity of planting is to be done 

 it is much safer to plant during the fall in a heavy soil, especially as a 

 rainy season is frequently experienced during the early spring months, 

 thus delaying planting work until growth is too far advanced. There 

 is little actual difference between the desirability of spring planting 

 and fall planting. There are arguments on both sides of the question 

 and, with the exception of those plants which are adapted for trans- 

 planting only at a specific season, the writer suggests that planting 

 should be done whenever the soil is ready to receive the plants, whether 

 it be spring or fall. This is especially true in the loamy soils. Trans- 

 planting should not be done too late in the spring, for the reason that 

 growth will be too far advanced for the plants to be moved with 

 safety, and the season will become hot and dry before the plants are 

 well established. It is for this reason that plants taken from a colder 

 climate to a much warmer climate should preferably be transplanted 

 in the fall. 



