1464 



HERB 



HERB 



rains and waterings; saves some of the labor necessary 

 to keep the soil open and friable; allows the growth of 

 many smaller, finer-rooted or creeping plants that can- 

 not grow well in a stiff soil; permits the sowing of many 

 annuals in the border. Many low-growing plants are 

 injured on clayey soil by having the under surfaces of the 

 leaves coated with earth by spattering of rain. A clay 

 soil may be made more loose by the addition of manures, 

 sawdust, coal-ashes, sand or almost any such material. 

 A light, fine mulch should be kept on the surface of a 

 clay soil. 



The points to be borne in mind in planting should be 

 healthy plants, careful planting and sufficient thickness 

 of planting. Plants should be obtained which have not 

 been stunted, as a weakened plant will seldom make as 

 good a specimen as if rightly treated from the start. 

 When plants are received from the nursery they may 

 be heeled-in if necessary, but every day plants are left 

 where they have no root-hold on the soil is an injury to 

 them, in proportion to the suitableness of the weather 

 for root-growth. If plants must remain any considerable 

 length of time before being placed in their permanent 

 position it is best to plant them in reserve ground, and 

 to remove them when desired with balls of earth. 



Symmetry of top-growth is to some extent, at least, 

 dependent on symmetry of root-growth, so that by 

 careful planting the roots not only become more quickly 

 and strongly active, but give us hope for a more sym- 

 metrical plant than can be secured by careless planting. 

 The proper way to place a plant in the ground is to 

 distribute the roots equally about the plant, leaving the 

 tips pointed downward, and then to firm the soil suffi- 

 ciently about the roots. 



A perennial border should be planted rather thick, so 

 that when in foliage it shall appear as one mass. Any 

 showing of soil between plants is not only unnatural 

 but destroys the beauty of the border as a whole. Of 

 course, if plants are wanted for their individual or 

 separate merits, they should be given full room. 



Winter protection of herbaceous perennials. 



The protection of species not reliably hardy may be 

 accomplished with any material suitable for keeping 

 out frost which is not naturally too moist or close. The 

 material should preferably be heaped over the crown 

 of the plant to shed part of the rain as well as to prevent 

 quick changes of temperature, or wholly to exclude 

 frost, as the plant may need. 



The material to be used will be determined for the 

 plants to be protected, by what is on hand or easily 

 obtainable, and by the presence or not of mice or other 

 vermin, which often work under such material as straw. 

 Protected plants should be examined frequently in the 

 winter, and if mice are present they may be killed or 



1819. An herb-covered rockwork. 



driven away by placing a few drops of carbon bisul- 

 fide in each hole found. (This is also a good way to 

 rid coldframes of these pests. Plenty of ventilation 

 should be given at the time, as the gas evaporated is 

 destructive to vegetation. As the gas is heavier than air 

 it sinks for the most part down the holes.) If, however, 

 mice are not troublesome, there is no better material 

 for keeping out cold and 

 shedding water than 

 straw. Nature's plant- 

 protection is to use the 

 foliage and stems of the 

 plant themselves, the 

 whole ground surface be- 

 ing covered as the weather 

 grows colder with succes- 

 sive coatings of snow, 

 which protection again 

 grows lighter as spring 

 approaches. This is still 

 the ideal winter protec- 

 tion for plants, but snows 

 are likely to disappear in 

 midwinter and mice are 

 well adapted to live under 

 heavy litter. Where mice 

 are troublesome, a light 

 material may be made by 



composting leaves, ma- i 82 o. A rear corner, embellished 

 nure rakings from lawns, with weeds, 



greenhouse waste, weeds 



not in fruit as pulled during the season, and the like. 

 The material should be earthy enough to keep mice 

 out, and loose enough to permit of easy removal in 

 spring. It should also be loose enough not to hold too 

 much water in winter. Sawdust and charcoal are 

 examples of such material. 



Most of the plants that are largely cultivated need 

 no protection, but all herbaceous perennials, unless they 

 are evergreen or easily smothered, are benefited by a 

 slight covering to protect the soil from alternate freez- 

 ing and thawing. If the plants are evergreen, a cover- 

 ing to supply shade is often desirable. Other plants, 

 such as Helianthus decapetalus fl. pi., really need pro- 

 tection, not to exclude frost but to lessen considerably 

 the severity of the winter. Still others, as many of the 

 lilies, are best covered to the exclusion of frost. In gen- 

 eral, the plants that need complete protection have 

 crowns below the surface, and so may be covered with 

 any amount or kind of material. When it is desired 

 thoroughly to protect crowns on the soil surface, flats 

 may be first placed over the crowns before adding the 

 protection. In most cases, late fall plantings should be 

 protected to some extent, since plants are less hardy 



when poorly established in the soil. See 



Winter Protection, Vol. VI. 



Propagation of herbaceous perennials. 



The methods of propagation most used 

 are by seed, by division of the plant, and by 

 cuttings. 



Propagation by seed is commonly not of use 

 for the perpetuation of horticultural varieties, 

 .;:>, although to a varied extent with different 

 "* species any variety tends to reproduce its 

 characteristics more perfectly the longer it 

 becomes established as a variety. However, 

 some of the garden plants have been sepa- 

 rated into their present number of varieties 

 or forms mainly by continual propagation by 

 seed- and plant-selection, and such may be 

 satisfactorily increased by seed. An example 

 might be taken in the hollyhock, although, if 

 a group be left to resow itself, or no seed- 

 selection be maintained, it will soon become 

 mainly composed of single-flowered plants 



