290 SEEDING AND PLANTING 



26. The Management of Seedbeds After Germination Be- 

 gins. When seedbeds are covered during germination the cover 

 should be partially or completely removed as soon as germination 

 starts in order to give the young plants necessary air and light. 

 Usually the larger percentage of the viable seed germinates at 

 approximately the same time. Even when germination is irregular 

 there should be but little delay in the removal of the cover. If 

 left on too long, the seedlings grow tall and spindling for lack of 

 light, and their weak, succulent tissues endanger them to disease. 



Various methods for shading seedbeds are practiced. Any 

 method which will provide half shade uniformly distributed is 

 usually acceptable. To what extent the young seedlings should 

 be shaded immediately after germinating depends largely upon 

 weather conditions. If the weather is dry and bright, full over- 

 head shade is desirable for the first few days. If it is warm, 

 moist, and cloudy, the cover should be entirely removed and the 

 beds dried out by exposing them to the air and wind. Careful 

 attention should be given to them the first 4 weeks after germina- 

 tion, and the shade increased or decreased depending upon the 

 conditions of the weather. There is little danger from damping- 

 off after the first month, and the seedlings can, as a rule, be safely 

 grown under half shade for the remainder of the season. 



Partial shading for at least a part of the first year is generally 

 advocated in growing coniferous seedlings in forest nurseries in the 

 United States not only for the more tolerant genera such as spruce, 

 hemlock, and fir but also for pine and larch. The seedlings of 

 most species of conifers are small and delicate in their early youth 

 and often are killed or severely injured by exposure to wind and 

 sun. The damage is chiefly due to drying the tender stem below 

 the cotyledons and the effect of exposure on the surface layer of 

 the soil. When damage due to the desiccating action of wind and 

 sun does not occur, all species can be grown in open seedbeds. Conif- 

 erous species that are indigenous to warmer and less humid sites 

 than the nursery where the seed is sown can often be grown with- 

 out shade. When the seed is sown in the autumn it germinates 

 earlier than spring-sown seed and the resulting plants are more 

 resistant to damage from summer heat and drought; consequently 

 shading is not so essential. The owners of nurseries located at high 

 and intermediate elevations where there is a short growing season 

 usually grow as many species as possible without shade, because 



