Planting Notes for the Fall 



Wm. Hunt, O. A. C, Guelph, Ont. 



THE month of October may be pro- 

 perly termed bulb planting month, 

 although most of the hardy garden 

 lilies would be better planted or trans- 

 planted, if they require it, early in Sep- 

 tember. It is far better, however, to 

 plant lilies in October than to leave 

 them until spring. It should be remem- 

 bered, however, that bulbous rooted 

 lilies especially should not be transplant- 

 ed or disturbed oftener than is absolute- 

 ly necessary, not until the bulbs have be- 

 come so thick and crowded that they 

 produce a degenerate type of flower. Lily 

 bulbs do not like to be disturbed or 

 moved very frequently. The same rule 

 will apply to some of the hardy early, 

 spring flowering, bulbous, fleshy or 

 rhizome rooted border plants, such as 

 the Dicentras or Dielytra. Dicentras 

 Spectabilis, the old-fashioned Bleeding 

 Heart, Dicentra Eximia, and the Cory- 

 dalis nobilis and Corydalis bulbosa are 

 all better planted, or transplanted in the 

 fall, rather than in the spring. The 

 Hemerocallis (Lemon Lily) and the 

 Funkias or Day Lilies can also be 

 planted in the fall to advantage. 



GERMAN IBIS 



German Iris can also be planted in the 

 fall. In planting German Iris care 

 should be taken not to bury the thick, 

 fleshy rhizome roots far under the sur- 

 face of the soil. It is best in planting 

 these to first dig the ground well, then 

 to firm it down well with the back of 

 the spade, then insert the spade quite 

 perpendicular to its full length so as to 

 leave a narrow trench or opening the 

 depth of the spade. In this the smaller 

 more fibry roots growing from beneath 

 the rhizome root should be placed, leav- 

 ing the thick, fleshy rhizome root almost 

 or quite on the surface of the soil. The 

 ground should be pressed or tramped 

 quite firm around the roots after plant- 

 ing. I have had better results by plant- 

 ing German Iris in the fall than by plant- 

 ing in the spring. 



PAEONIES 



The common garden herbaceous 

 paeonies are best planted in the fall. If 

 old clumps of these require dividing up 

 and replanting there is no better time 

 for both of these operations than early 

 in October. Tree paeonies are best 

 planted in the spring. These last-named 

 are, however, seldom grown, as they 

 are not hardy without winter protection 

 outside of the Niagara district; even 

 there they are often partially winter- 

 killed. 



Paeonies succeed best on a well en- 

 riched, fairly heavy soil. A well drain- 

 ed clay soil, if not of too close a texture, 

 will suit them, or a clay loam soil is still 

 better. Very light sandy or gravelly 

 soils do not suit paeonies. In planting 



paeony roots, the tops of the crowns or 

 buds should be not more than an inch 

 under the surface of the soil, when the 

 roots are planted. 



Clumps of paeony roots thai have 

 been growing for several years in the 

 same place and become weakened from 

 that cause should be divided and trans- 

 planted. One method of doing this is 

 to remove the earth from one or two 

 sides of the root and take off a section 

 or two of the root for planting else- 

 where, leaving the major portion of the 

 root still in the ground undisturbed for 

 a year or two, until the young plants 

 taken off have become established and 

 possibly started flowering. Or the old 

 clumps of roots can be dug up entirely 

 and then divided into sections after be- 

 ing dug. A good sharp spade is the 

 best implement for this purpose. 



Very often in dividing paeony roots a 

 partial natural division may be found in 

 the clump. By working the spade care- 

 fully where this partial division is some- 

 times seen, any unnecessary mutilation 

 or cutting of the roots can be avoided. 

 At any rate when cutting up a clump of 

 paeonies it is best to be sure of having 

 from three to five or six crowns or buds 

 on each division. These divisions or 

 sections will often give some flower the 

 first season, if the divisions are not too 

 weak and small. The soil should be 

 packed firmly around the roots, leaving 

 about half an inch of loose soil over the 

 tops of and around the crowns after 

 they are planted. A mulching of well- 

 rotted barnyard manure about an inch 

 in depth over and around them will be 

 of great benefit. This should, however, 

 rtot be put on until later about the mid- 

 dle of November or before hard frosts 

 set in. This manure will serve the pur- 

 pose of a fertilizer if forked in around 

 the plants in the spring. 



The same rule and methods regarding 



dividing and transplanting paeonies will 

 apply very closely in dividing and trans- 

 planting Dicentras, Corydalis, and Ger- 

 man Iris, except perhaps that the last- 

 named should only be mulched very 

 lightly, if at all. 



PLANTING BULBS 



Outdoor spring flowering bulbs in- 

 clude Dutch hyacinths, tulips, narcisi- 

 sus, crocus, snowdrop, scilla, Chiono- 

 doxa (Glory of the Snow^, and Leuco- 

 jum vernum (Snowflakes). The Fritil- 

 laria Imperialis or Crown Imperial can 

 also be included in this list. The best 

 time to plant all of these bulbs is about 

 the seconii or third week in October. 

 They may be planted later on until hard 

 frosts set in, but late planted bulbs do 

 not, as a rule, give as good results as 

 those planted earlier. 



The Crown Imperials should be plant- 

 ed in groups three or five inches below 

 the surface of the soil and six or eight 

 inches apart. These last-named are tall 

 growing, two or three feet in height. 

 Dutch hyacinths, tulips, and narcissus 

 should be planted so that the tops of 

 the bulbs are from three to four inches 

 under the surface of the soil and from 

 four to six inches apart, whether planted 

 in groups, rows, or massed in large 

 flower beds. Crocus snowdrop, scilla, 

 Chionodoxa, or Snowflake bulbs should 

 be planted about three inches deep and 

 about three inches apart. I have found 

 that all bulbs are best not planted too 

 deep in heavy soils, in light soils they 

 may be planted the full depth stated. 

 Strawy manure or some similar material 

 four or five inches in depth may be plac- 

 ed over bulbs late in November, after 

 the ground has been frozen slightly. 

 Green pine boughs placed over them will 

 also serve as a protection for bulbs. 



The following are good varieties of 

 bulbs to plant: 



A Bad of Hyintkgex panicuiata •« GroMrn in Victoria Park, Gait, Ont. 



