DECORATIVE PLANTING 211 



dry while transplanting, and, before the specimen is set, all 

 broken and bruised roots should be cut back to the sound 

 wood with a sharp clean cut. Specimens should be set slightly 

 deeper than they stood originally, and it is well to have the 

 same side toward the north. The hole in which the plant is 

 to be set should always be large enough to allow the roots to 

 spread out naturally. This hole is sometimes made by explod- 

 ing a small charge of dynamite, which loosens the subsoil and 

 makes it easy for the new roots to penetrate it. The best soil 

 should be used for filling about the roots and should be well 

 firmed about them. If the plant is set in poor soil, enough 

 good soil should be procured elsewhere to fill up the hole. 

 When the hole is half filled, the plant may be gently worked 

 up and down to settle the earth about the roots, or water 

 may be thrown into the hole for the same purpose. No air 

 spaces about the roots should be permitted. 



Transplanting herbaceous perennials. As with the woody 

 plants, the best time to transplant herbaceous perennials is in 

 fall or spring, but owing to the fact that these plants are 

 smaller and more easily handled, they may be moved at any 

 time if a few simple rules are observed. In the case of wild 

 plants, many of which are among our most ornamental spe- 

 cies, the rule most frequently followed is, " Transplant when 

 you find them." By using care in the digging, keeping the 

 specimen moist, and protecting from the sun until established 

 in the new locality, one can move almost any specimen without 

 loss even when in bloom. 



Mulching and heeling in. Newly set herbaceous plants are 

 benefited by a light mulch over their roots, which keeps the 

 moisture from evaporating and the soil from baking. Plants 

 set in autumn should be more heavily mulched as soon as the 

 ground is frozen, and this should not be removed until the 

 frost is out of the ground in spring. Such a mulch prevents 

 the heaving due to the alternate thawing and freezing of the 



