30 STUDIES IN GARDENING 



like Paeonies and German Irises, which usually will 

 not flower well the same year if planted in spring, 

 are best so planted in a very stiff clay. As in the 

 case of Roses, they may do nothing the first year, 

 but they are well established before the winter comes. 

 In any case, if autumn planting is done at all with 

 herbaceous plants, it should be done as early as pos- 

 sible, and it can be done earlier in heavy than in light 

 soils, because there is less danger of drought. Speak- 

 ing generally, deep-rooting plants are better moved 

 in autumn and shallow-rooting in spring, as the shal- 

 low-rooters recover most quickly from disturbance. 

 But in a light soil many shallow-rooting plants are 

 best moved in the autumn, as there is no fear of their 

 perishing from winter cold and damp, whereas if 

 moved in spring they may not recover before a long 

 drought begins. Such plants can usually be moved 

 in spring with perfect safety in a stiff soil; whereas 

 a good many deep-rooting plants in such a soil will 

 succumb to winter cold and damp if moved in au- 

 tumn. 



Speaking generally, again, deep-rooting plants are 

 most suitable to light soils, in which their roots protect 

 them from drought, while shallow-rooting plants do 

 best in heavy soils, where there is usually enough 

 moisture on the surface even in summer to keep their 

 roots cool. But this is only a general rule. Some deep- 

 rooting plants, such as Pseonies, are never so fine as 

 in a stiff soil, and many shallow-rooting plants will 

 not endure the cold and damp of a stiff clay. 



