243 



PLANTING. 



plants uewly planted in pots, and 

 those wliieh have been in pots for 

 two or three years ; for the former 

 may perhaps have few roots which 

 have reached the sides of the pot, as 

 in the case of China Roses struck 

 and potted early in the season and 

 planted out the same summer, and 

 which, of course, may be planted 

 out without breaking the ball. The 

 same observation will apply to all 

 other plants in pots that have not i 

 their fibrous roots somewhat woody ; 

 and also to all hair-rooted plants, 

 such as Heaths, Rhododendrons, 

 Azaleas, A'rbutus, and in general 

 to all the Ericaceae, which having at 

 no age large woody roots, may al- 

 w^ays be transplanted from pots with 

 the balls entire. 



It may here be observed that large 

 shrubs of almost all the Ericaceae 

 may be transplanted at almost any 

 age with less danger than most other 

 plants, as, from the slender and 

 fibrous nature of the great mass of 

 their roots, they are less liable to 

 injury than woody-rooted plants. 

 All that is required is that they 

 should be taken up with a large ball 

 of eai'th, and that when replanted 

 they should be abundantly supplied 

 ■snth water. 



Hitherto nothing has been said 

 especially applicable to evergreens, 

 whether in the open ground or in 

 pots. These being at every season 

 of the year more or less in a growing 

 state, it is always desirable to trans- 

 plant them with balls ; and it is 

 only young plants of evergreens, 

 such as seedling Hollies, Portugal 

 Laurels, and young cuttings or layers 

 of the common Laui*el, Laurustinus, 

 Sweet Bay, Phillyrea, Alaternus, 

 Junipers, &c., which can be sent at 

 any distance with a certainty of 

 growing without balls. The com- 

 mon Holly, when it is above three 

 or four feet in height, requii-es to be 



taken up with a ball, and that ball 

 cai-efully preserved by being tied tip 

 in a mat — or, according to the 

 Dutch practice, put into a basket 

 of wickerwork. The same remark 

 will apply to Arbor Vita?, Junipers, 

 A'rbutus, Rhododendrons, Box, 

 Phillyi-eas, and even the common 

 Laurel. 



The best season for transplanting 

 all deciduous trees and shrubs is the 

 autumn ; because the plant has time 

 to produce some fibres, and to ac- 

 commodate itself to its new soil and 

 situation during the winter, so as to 

 be prepared to grow freely the fol- 

 lowing spring. Evergreens may also 

 be transplanted in autumn, or at 

 any time in open moist weather 

 during autumn, winter, or early 

 spiing. In dry or frosty weather 

 it is always dangerous to remove 

 them, because the sap in an ever- 

 green is more or less in motion at 

 every season of the year, and the 

 plant is never so completely dormant 

 as in the case of deciduous trees. 

 Formerly it was thought that the 

 best season for removing evergreens 

 was in the latter part of summer, 

 shortly after they had completed 

 their year's growth ; but this doc- 

 trine was only acted upon in the 

 time of IMiller and before, when 

 there were comparatively few spe- 

 cies of evergreens in British gar- 

 dens ; and it has been recently found 

 by ]\Ir. M 'Xab (see his Treatise on 

 Transplanting Evergreens) that 

 evergreens may be transplanted with 

 much greater safety in mild weather 

 in autumn or winter, than at any 

 other i^eriod of the year. Herba- 

 ceous plants may in general be 

 transplanted at any season when 

 they are not in flower or coming into 

 flower ; but the safest time for pe- 

 rennials is in autumn, after they have 

 ripened their seeds, and are going 

 into a dormant state. Biennial and 



