TRANSPLANTING 287 



planted in the fall. The iris is peculiar and can be successfully trans- 

 planted at any time when the ground is not frozen. The best time is 

 believed to be immediately after flowering. 



Plants which are not vigorous in their habit of root growth and which 

 are very susceptible to abnormal conditions of freezing and thawing, 

 or to excessive moisture in the soil during the winter months, should 

 not be transplanted in the autumn. The most important illustra- 

 tions of this type of plants are the beech, the flowering dogwood, and 

 some of the less hardy types of evergreens, such as the arborvitae and 

 the pea-fruited cypress. Many good plantsmen are of the opinion that 

 rhododendrons and azaleas should be planted during the spring months. 

 As is the case with the refined types of evergreens, there is usually less 

 loss from spring planting of this material than from fall planting. 

 The question of period of transplanting in connection with rhododen- 

 drons and with evergreens has been discussed under the chapter on 

 Planting and Transplanting (Page 49). 



While it is desirable in the transplanting of evergreens and of 

 rhododendrons in particular to move them at a time when they are 

 just ready to begin growth, in order to prevent them from standing in a 

 "cold soil," it is, on the other hand, necessary to transplant such 

 trees as the beech and the birch when they are absolutely dormant. 

 If they have shown the least signs of growth through the swelling of the 

 buds, the operation of transplanting becomes more difficult, and yet to 

 transplant such material in the fall and to permit it to stand through 

 the winter, especially in a heavy soil, subjects it to the possibility of 

 considerable loss. There is a well-defined group of perennials, typical 

 of which are the chrysanthemum and the Japanese anemone, which 

 can seldom be transplanted with any success during the fall season. 

 The reason for this is that the plant produces flowers at such a late 

 period in the growing season that further root action necessary to 

 establish the plant in a new location and successfully carry it through 

 the winter is not encouraged. 



Group C includes plants divided into two sub-groups, a those 

 which transplant with difficulty and should rarely if ever be trans- 

 planted, but grown in their permanent location from seed, cuttings, 

 or very small seedlings, and b those which after being transplanted 

 recover very slowly. All of the plants in the first group are the ex- 

 tremely slow-growing types, such as the walnut, the butternut, the 

 ironwood, and the sweet fern. Those typical of the second groups are 



